


It'll Do Magic, Believe It or Not

by mousapelli



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Fairy Godmother Naminé, Happily Ever After, Komory as a Bat, M/M, Magic, Mickey and Minnie as Mice, Prince Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mousapelli/pseuds/mousapelli
Summary: For ten years, Riku has been raised by Master Ansem, treated as a servant and insulted by Ansem's other apprentices. By order of the King, Crown Prince Sora must be engaged by the third night of the summer ball, so it's Riku's last chance to reunite with his childhood friend. His Fairy Godmother and animal friends have their hands full getting him to the ball on time so Sora and Riku get their happily ever after!
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 73
Kudos: 191





	1. Prologue ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ Once Upon a Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to finally start posting this. Months ago, Faux posted art of [Riku with a bandana](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1225287104281923584) which quickly devolved into a group chat about CinderRiku - this entire thing wouldn't exist at all if it weren't for TheFauxsynder and Green_eggs101. They listened to me, cheered me on, and even betaed this in the end. YOU ARE HEROES. 
> 
> All the chapter art and sketches, and the dividers, were also drawn by Faux, who I can't thank enough. You really brought the whole thing to life ♥ 
> 
> While the basic setting here and some of the dialogue comes from the classic Disney Cinderella and Cinderella III, I read probably a dozen other versions of Cinderella as I was writing. The two I was most heavily inspired by was [this Grimm version](https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm021.html) and [this Jacobs version](https://fairytalez.com/cinder-maid-joseph-jacobs-version-cinderella/). 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading our fairy tale version of Sora/Riku as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Once upon a time, in a small but prosperous kingdom by the sea, a son was born to a merchant and his wife. His hair was silver as starlight, and his eyes were green as the sea. They named him Riku. His mother died soon after he was born; his father, mourning his wife and unwilling to leave his infant son in the hands of others, took on a business partner to manage his affairs so that he could stay at home and raise Riku himself. 

As soon as he could walk, Riku followed his father everywhere; when Riku was old enough to travel, his father resumed his business and naturally brought his son along. Like his father, Riku loved the sea, and his father's fine ship, and the marvelous ports and cities his father showed him, so much bigger than their small home islands. 

Despite not being of especially noble birth before he made his fortune, Riku's father was a favorite in King Yen Sid's court because of his jovial nature and his excellent stories of sea travel and distant lands. Once or twice, his father brought Riku to court along with him, amused by how the ladies cooed over what a pretty child Riku was, and how the men commented on the close resemblance between father and son. Riku, who was a shy child, stared at the floor and could barely be coaxed into saying hello quietly, enduring pats to the head and cheek pinches. 

It was traditional in the kingdom of Destiny Islands that King Yen Sid would mark the end of summer with a fabulous celebration. For three nights, every noble in the land was invited to the palace for a grand ball, and everyone came dressed in their very finest. There was lively dancing, amazing food, beautiful music, and at midnight, a breathtaking fireworks display, each night more marvelous than the last. 

Riku and his father were usually away during the summer, his father carrying on as much of his merchant business as he could while the weather was fine and the sea was calm. The summer that Riku was six, however, they had caught a strong wind from their last port and arrived home several days earlier than expected, just in time for the first night of the ball. The king sent an invitation directly, insisting that Riku's father attend as his stories had been sorely missed at court all summer. So it was that Riku's father dressed Riku in a fine red coat that matched his own, and brought him to the palace for the summer ball. 

Riku clung tightly to his father's hand as they got out of their carriage and walked up the wide staircase. The castle was lit from every window like a giant iced birthday cake, ladies in silk gowns with feathers in their hair and on their fans fluttered past like birds, and gentlemen in rich velvet coats and glossy boots puffed themselves up like peacocks. Inside the grand ballroom, chandeliers glittered like stars all across the ceiling, and tables were lined with more food and sweets than Riku could hardly believe. The center of the room was filled with couples waltzing in perfect, sweeping circles. Riku nearly tripped going down the grand staircase, dizzy from trying to look at everything at once.

It was equal parts overwhelming and boring, a party meant much more for grown-ups than six-year-old boys. Riku was on the verge of telling his father that he didn't feel well when suddenly King Yen Sid appeared in front of them, making all of Riku's words dry up in his throat. Even during the lighthearted summer ball, the king was stern and tall as a pine tree, his white eyebrows making him look like he was always glaring. 

"Your majesty," Riku's father greeted, bowing low, his hand between Riku's shoulder blades urging him to do the same. "May I present my son, Riku."

"That's your name?" a high voice asked, and Riku lifted his head to find a boy even younger than himself peering from around King Yen Sid's robes. The boy had eyes as blue as the sky, and a thin circle of gold nested in his brown hair. "That's a funny name."

"May I present the Crown Prince," the king said, sounding mildly aggravated. "Your _manners_ , Sora."

"How nice to meet you," Sora said immediately, his sentence precise and over-rehearsed. "I do hope you are enjoying yourselves at the ball."

He sounded a bit like the mechanical dolls at the toy shop that could only speak one sentence, and Riku laughed before he could stop himself. Immediately his cheeks turned pink, embarrassed at having laughed at the prince, but Sora didn't seem to mind, still examining him curiously. 

"May I take Riku to see the cake?" Sora asked. King Yen Sid raised an eyebrow, but Riku's father hurried to say that he saw no harm in it. "Please? We'll come right back."

"You may look at the cake, but _not_ touch it," the king said, the threatening note in his voice making Riku feel the size of a mouse. "I trust you remember last time."

Sora chirped a "Yes, sir!" and grabbed Riku's hand to drag him off before Riku really understood what was happening. 

"What happened last time?" Riku asked as Sora pulled him deftly between ladies' skirts and groups of lords. 

"I ate half the bottom layer and then was sick," Sora reported, matter-of-fact. He shot a grin over his shoulder. "It was _my_ birthday cake, though! I should be able to eat as much of it as I want, don't you think? Anyway this one's _much_ bigger, but I bet I could still eat at least half…" 

Riku didn't get a word in edgewise as Sora chattered on, until Sora stopped in front of a towering creation of ivory frosting and golden-iced flowers. It was bigger than Riku; it might have been bigger than King Yen Sid. Riku gasped, eyes wide as they trailed up and and up and up the enormous cake, to the very top where an enormous sugar star was perched. He could absolutely see why Sora would eat a cake like this until he was sick. 

He was too busy staring to notice what Sora was doing, and so Riku gave a startled yelp when Sora grabbed his wrist and dragged him under the table. It was dim, but there was enough light filtering through the tablecloth to see Sora grinning at him, as well as the entire plate of macarons Sora plunked on the floor between them. Sora jammed one macaron into his mouth and then another into Riku's. 

[](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1270903790875684871)

"It's good, right?" Sora asked through his full mouth. Riku bit down, the crunch of it satisfying before it melted across his tongue in sugary bliss. He nodded, already reaching for another one. "The pink ones are my favorite!"

"It's too dark to see the colors," Riku pointed out. 

"I can tell them," Sora said loftily, but the next cookie he bit into made him wrinkle his nose. "Ugh, lemon."

They ate nearly the whole plate before neither of them could eat anymore. Riku's shyness melted away like sugar under Sora's curious blue eyes and endless questions. He was nothing like Riku had expected a crown prince to be, a bit silly and tugging at the neck of his velvet coat like it was itching him just as much as Riku's was annoying him. Eventually Sora said he had better get back to his father; the two of them scrambled awkwardly out from under the table, surprising a lady so much that she dropped her cup in the punch. 

"I like you," Sora declared directly. Flustered, Riku's cheeks went as pink as the macarons. "Usually the ball's so boring 'cause it's all grown-ups, but you're fun. Come back tomorrow night, please?"

Riku was still a bit dazed by the whole thing as he went to find his father. It was so long past his bedtime that when they went out to the balcony for the fireworks Riku was falling asleep on his feet. He passed out cold during the carriage ride home. In the morning, Riku woke up with the sun already streaming through his window, half-convinced it had all been a dream. 

"Aren't you a sight," his father laughed when Riku struggled down to breakfast with his hair sticking out in all directions. "Better have some strong tea and gather your reserves. There are still two more nights of the ball!"

The second night, Sora appeared just as Riku and his father arrived at the bottom of the grand staircase. He grabbed Riku's hand and pulled. "Come with me!"

Riku hesitated, looking up at his father, and Sora straightened up. Riku thought of King Yen Sid scolding "Your _manners_ , Sora."

"May I borrow Riku?" Sora asked. Riku's father looked like he was holding in a laugh. 

"Of course, Your Highness," he answered. 

Sora chirped a thank you, already turning to go, pulling Riku along behind him like a wagon going down a bumpy road behind an overexcited horse. They skirted along the edge of the grand ball room, around candelabras and tables and people, until finally Sora stopped in front of one of the velvet curtains lining the walls. There were dozens of them all over the room, but to Riku's surprise, when Sora struggled to push this one out of the way, there was a door behind the heavy fabric. 

"We're making our escape!" Sora declared, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody was paying them any attention. They were off to the side, the curve of one of the staircases offering some cover. Satisfied, Sora yanked the door open and pushed Riku through it. The sounds of the orchestra and chatter of guests cut off like a switch had been thrown. 

"Where are we?" Riku asked nervously, afraid of being caught and scolded. He might even be thrown in the dungeon for kidnapping the prince! "Don't you have to stay at the ball?"

"I've already been presented to everybody last night," Sora answered, face scrunched up. "This is one of the servant exits to the gardens, right through there." Sora pointed at a door down a short hallway. He grabbed Riku's hand without waiting for an answer, and away they went. 

Outside, the gardens were lit with strings of paper lanterns, the hedges and flowerbeds midnight green under the moonlight, the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle heavy in the warm summer air. With just the two of them in the quiet, it seemed like a fairy garden, mysterious and wonderful. 

Riku's eyes were wide as he tried to look everywhere at once. "It's amazing."

"Right?" Sora grinned, as pleased as if he'd planted it himself. "Come on, I'll show you all the best parts."

There were so many things to see; Riku's country manor had a garden, of course, but it was nothing like this. There was a great pond with a fountain in the center, and spotted fish that swam up curiously to Riku's fingers when he touched the water. There was a tea party garden with moonflower vines climbing all up the hedges, all their pale faces turned up towards the stars. Sora taught Riku how to sneak up behind the peacocks roaming about and startle them to make them shake out their tails. They played sword fight with sticks, and caught dozens of fireflies in the low-hanging fronds of an ancient, drooping willow tree. There were fruit trees to climb when they got hungry, apple and pear and peach. One old pear tree's branches overhung the high garden wall, making it easy for the two boys to use it as a ladder. 

They sat on top of the wall, faces and hands sticky from the fruit, and talked about nothing for hours. Sora wanted to know everything about sailing on Riku's father's boat, and Riku was just as curious about what Sora did in the palace all day. They talked for so long that when the first BOOM of the fireworks rang out, both of them jumped in surprise. 

"Oh! It's started!" Riku exclaimed. They'd been wonderful the night before, but from the dark of the garden, the fireworks looked even brighter, the crack of their explosions vibrating in his chest. One bright white starburst shot up so high that it lit the whole garden when it exploded, crackling down like fairy dust. "They're amazing, don't you…Sora?" 

Riku looked down to find Sora clinging tightly to his arm, eyes wide and face pale. Riku remembered that last night, the prince hadn't been on the balcony for the fireworks with everyone else; Riku had thought it was because it was so late. Another row of gold and blue flowers burst over top of them, and Sora yelped, squeezing his eyes shut. 

"You don't like fireworks?" Riku asked, perplexed. Sora shook his head. "But…they're so pretty."

"They're too loud!" Sora wailed. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, one slipping down his cheek. "And too close! What if one lands in the garden? What if it starts a big fire?!"

"I'll protect you," Riku declared, wanting Sora to stop crying. Riku still had his stick from playing knight earlier. He pulled it out from his belt and pointed at the next firework, as if he were facing a huge dragon. "Stay back, you! If you come near Prince Sora's gardens, I'll knock you all the way across the ocean!" 

He was trying to make it big and silly, so that Sora would laugh. Instead Sora blinked slowly at him, eyes wide. "Would you really?" 

Riku nodded shyly. He was opening his mouth to admit that he'd never fought so much as another boy, much less a firework, but Sora was already scrabbling at the back of his neck. He pulled free a necklace Riku hadn't noticed under the lace of his shirt collar, a silver crown pendant hanging from it. 

"Here!" Sora said, taking Riku's hand and wrapping the chain around his wrist. It went around Riku's wrist three times and some extra before Sora was satisfied and reconnected the clasp. "It's the mark of the crown prince. That proves you're in my service as my knight! So don't lose it!" 

[](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1270903790875684871)

"I won't," Riku promised solemnly. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at what his father's face would look like if he said he was giving up all his school books for a knight's sword. Sora seemed satisfied. He was still clinging to Riku's arm, and he still jumped at every boom, but he didn't cry anymore after that. 

Riku wasn't much for secrets, so when his father was tucking him in, he showed him the pendant right away. He was a bit worried that he shouldn't have taken it, since it was the prince's necklace and all. 

"The prince's mark, hmm?" Riku's father held it up to examine it in the candlelight. Then he put it back in Riku's hand. "That sounds like an important promise. Be sure that you keep it."

After the summer celebration was over, any time Riku and his father went to court, it wouldn't take long for Sora to appear. Riku was much happier being dragged into the prince's mischief than standing around having his cheeks pinched by ladies. They stole pastries from the kitchen, hid behind curtains to startle maids, and snuck through secret passageways to avoid Sora's tutors. Riku still loved the garden best, with its fountain and fish and sticks and fruit trees. They didn't see each other as often as they wanted, since Riku was busy with his lessons and Sora had more than a few of his own as crown prince, but it was still the happiest year of Riku's life. 

It would be many years before Riku had another happy one, unfortunately. His father had decided that Riku was old enough to be left in the care of tutors while he returned to traveling more often for his merchant business. The spring Riku was seven, his father's ship was lost at sea in an unexpected spring storm, and Riku's father with it. 

Seeing as Riku had no other family, his father's business partner, Ansem, stepped forward to act as Riku's guardian until he was of age. Ansem's reasons were not altruistic; he sought full control of the business, including the half reserved for Riku. Moreover, Ansem much preferred to live above his own working class means, and Riku's country estate more than satisfied that desire. Riku's father was not yet dead a week before Ansem moved himself into the manor. The whole house became grim and quiet, Riku drifting from room to room like a silent, mournful ghost, sometimes shutting himself up in his room for days at a time. 

Ansem promptly dismissed Riku's tutors and the rest of the household staff, wishing the privacy to carry on his affairs unwatched. Unbeknownst to Riku, Ansem told anyone who asked that Riku had been sent abroad to study. To Riku himself, Ansem commented that their lack of visitors must mean that everyone had forgotten Riku already. He'd only been a small boy at court, and a shy one at that, so it was little wonder that he'd failed to leave an impression. Ansem was very good at telling just enough truth to making his sharp words convincing, and Riku was too deep in mourning for his father to think clearly about it. 

During this time Ansem took on other students, declaring that the upkeep of the property required the extra income. Truthfully Ansem had always kept several apprentices at a time, requiring in return for their education that they afterwards should take up positions from which he could gather information and advance his business. With control of Riku's finances and property secured, Ansem turned his attention towards raising his standing at court, aiming eventually for the ear of the king, or barring that, for a title and property of his own. 

Over time, Riku grew from a child into a teenager with all of his father's intelligence and fine features, but where his father had been adventurous and good-humored, Riku was quiet and somewhat too serious. To his credit, what Riku lacked in socialization, he made up for in patience, enduring the harsh words and ill-treatment of his guardian and the other students without complaint. 

With no friends except for his books to occupy his time, Riku outshone Ansem's apprentices at every lesson, much to Ansem's frustration. Ansem gave Riku longer, more complicated assignments and challenged him with more difficult questions than his other students; still Riku excelled. Ansem began to assign tiring physical chores to Riku, such as chopping firewood and doing the laundry, filling his daylight hours so that his studying could only be done late into the night. He encouraged his apprentices to assign tasks to Riku as well, so much so that a single hour never passed without one or more people hollering Riku's name. 

Even when he had essentially become a servant in his own home, Riku dauntlessly, impossibly, continued to accomplish everything assigned to him. 

Years passed in this manner, until the summer that Riku was seventeen.


	2. Act I ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ Blue as the Heavens

Dawn's first rays crept in through the attic window, sneaking across the rough wooden floor of the small room until they climbed over the footboard of the bed. The sun's bright attention didn't bother Riku one bit; his silver hair had come loose from its braid and was hanging over his face, blocking the light and letting him peacefully dream on. 

A sleek black mouse appeared from a small hole in the corner, nose up, whiskers twitching. When the room remained silent, the mouse scurried across the floor and followed the path of the sun, up the foot of the bed and over the heap of blankets. The mouse paused on Riku's chest, grooming his whiskers thoughtfully, then deliberately put his ice cold mouse paws on Riku's cheek. 

Riku snorted softly, but otherwise didn't stir. 

Nosing Riku's hair out of the way, the mouse crawled fully onto Riku's face, up to his forehead, giving a little hop. Next he tried dangling his tail over Riku's nose to tickle it. 

"Go 'way, Mickey," Riku grumbled, rolling over and yanking his blankets up over his head. Unfortunately, pulling the blankets over his head meant his feet were now sticking out of the bottom. Mickey scurried down to the other end of the bed, where he was joined by another black mouse. Minnie was only distinguishable from Mickey by the thin, red ribbon around her neck, tied in a neat bow. 

The two mice looked at each other for a moment, then both pounced on the unprotected sole of Riku's foot, tickling with their feet and whiskers. 

"FINE, I'M UP," Riku groaned, throwing the blankets off and sitting up. Riku flopped back against his pillows, pushing his hair out of his face to eye the mice dolefully. "I was having a good dream."

Minnie, up on her hind legs, squeaked inquisitively.

"Can't tell you," Riku sniffed, turning his nose up. "If you tell a wish, it won't come true." Yawning, he tried to drag a hand through the mess of his hair. 

Any progress he made was immediately undone by a third little friend dropping onto his head from the rafters, squeaking gleefully while yanking on Riku's hair with tiny claws. Riku reached up to scoop his attacker up, tugging gently to free his hair. When he lowered his hand, a white bat was cupped in his palm, wiggling her nose at him. 

"Hey, hey, what's the big idea here?" Riku asked, using a fingertip to bop her nose lightly. Komory chirped softly and butted Riku's finger with her forehead. Riku had saved her from the chimney flu last fall, and since then she'd refused to rejoin the other bats who nested out in the banana tree leaves on the island. "Ganging up on me with these two, I'm hurt. Who brought you a whole grape yesterday, huh? So much for loyalty."

Komory licked the pad of Riku's thumb, but whatever else Riku was going to say was cut off by the chime of the nearest clocktower, bonging loudly to scold that Riku had plenty of chores to get to this morning. 

"Yes, I hear you," Riku grumbled, swinging his legs out of bed. He stood up and stretched on his toes to nudge Komory's feet against the corner rafter until she grabbed it. There was a small, rosette window of stained glass set in the highest, narrowest part of the attic eaves; the morning sun coming through it painted the white bat in pastel pink and gold as she wrapped her wings around herself to settle in for the day, chirping sleepily. Riku eyed Mickey and Minnie as he stretched out the stiffness from his back and neck. "No trouble today, you hear? It's too hot for mischief."

Mickey blinked innocently at Riku; Minnie groomed her ears primly. 

"Uh-huh. You two don't fool me with those innocent faces," Riku said, but he scratched both their heads on his way past. 

Riku splashed some water on his face from the basin and dressed quickly. His shirt was worn soft from overuse and patched at the elbows, its original bright blue long ago faded to a dustier version, smudged dark from fireplace soot in some places, spotted white from bleach in others. Despite the early hour, the summer heat was already creeping in, and Riku twisted his hair up to keep it off his neck and out of his way, tying it in place with a yellow bandana. 

It was a relief to leave his room, the temperature noticeably lower after coming down even one flight of stairs. Riku's attic room always trapped the heat rising from the rest of the house, making it unbearable during the hottest days until long after dark. Summer nights he often did his homework or read sitting on the cool hearthstones of the kitchen; sometimes he fell asleep there and woke up streaked with pen ink and ash, resulting in the other apprentices giving him the unflattering nickname Cinderiku. 

Early morning was Riku's favorite time of day, the sky rosy from dawn, the house peaceful while everyone else was still asleep. Riku re-lit the kitchen fire and put a kettle of water on, then went out to feed the horses and chickens, his routine so practiced that he could probably do it blindfolded. Aside from one duck who seemed determined to get in everyone's way and quack about it loudly, it was peaceful. 

Goodness knew it wouldn't stay peaceful for long. 

"Donald," Riku scolded, trying to nudge him back from the horses with his foot, "get out of the wa—" He was interrupted by a yell of his name, and Riku scattered the rest of the corn with a sigh. So much for the peace of the morning; once one of the apprentices started yelling, the rest would follow and go on all day and night. 

This time it was Ienzo, the youngest of Ansem's current students. He was in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed and scowling, the redness of his eyes and his wild hair saying that at least part of his bad mood was due to staying up all night in his laboratory again. 

"You!" Ienzo snapped as soon as Riku came back inside. "You did it!"

"I did what?" Riku asked, only half-listening. Mostly he was trying to decide whether Ienzo had just come to yell, in which case Riku could start breakfast while being yelled at, or if he was here to demand Riku do some immediate task.

"You freed CHIPMUNKS in my LABORATORY," Ienzo announced. "They've RUINED my EXPERIMENT!"

Riku blinked. It was very hard not to ask if Ienzo had perhaps been sniffing his chemicals again, but Riku was well-practiced at keeping a bland expression at all times. "Are the…chipmunks still there?"

"Of course they are, you buffoon!" Ienzo drew himself up to his full height, which barely reached Riku's shoulder. "You don't see them out here, do you? I demand you dispose of your vermin minions this instant!"

Setting the kettle aside so that it didn't start shrieking in his absence, Riku had no choice but to follow Ienzo out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He spent the trip wondering how, exactly, Ienzo thought Riku was controlling chipmunks. He'd have to tell the mice about this later, Mickey would think it was hilarious. Riku felt a twinge of unhappiness as Ienzo shoved the door open to the laboratory; this had once been his own set of rooms before Riku had been moved to the attic. 

He pushed the memory back down. No point in dwelling on it. 

"I don't see anything," Riku said, looking around. What he did see was an open window, the tree outside with branches very near the windowsill, and the plate of fruit, nuts, and cheese that Ienzo had forgotten about and left sitting out on his desk. Riku palmed a few of the leftover nuts while Ienzo wasn't paying attention. 

"Then I suggest you find them!" Ienzo retorted. "And quickly! I have work to do before lessons!"

He went on complaining about disruptions and faulty equipment, but Riku tuned him out as he glanced around the room and tried to guess where frightened chipmunks might hide. Ienzo's lab didn't have a lot of places to hide at least, the stone floor stripped of rugs and the furniture mainly wall-mounted bookcases or waist-high tables. Riku knelt down to see from chipmunk-level, and sure enough, underneath the desk and wedged back in the corner, were two chipmunks, shaking with fright. 

"Hey, you two," Riku said, voice gentle and soothing. "A lab's no place for chipmunks, you know. You're lucky those nuts weren't one of Ienzo's experiments or you might be ten-foot-tall rodents right now. Come out, please, so I can get you out of here." Riku put a hand out slowly, palm up, flat on the floor, the nuts he'd taken in his hand as bait to coax them out. 

One chipmunk, the one with the red nose, took a step forward, then another. The black-nosed chipmunk chittered a warning, but his partner ignored him. Riku held perfectly still as the first chipmunk crawled onto his hand one paw at a time, eyeing Riku suspiciously, but when Riku didn't move, he grabbed one of the nuts and started busily stuffing it in his mouth. 

"Come on," Riku urged the other chipmunk. "You won't get such a good offer from Ienzo, I promise you." Finally the reluctant chipmunk skittered over to join his friend, and Riku quickly cupped both hands around the startled chipmunks. Riku stood up carefully to make sure his back was to the room, gritting his teeth against the tickle of chipmunks scrabbling at his palms. Before one of them started using his teeth, Riku dropped them on the windowsill. He gave them a stern look. "Go on, out the way you came."

"Found something?" Ienzo asked behind him. Riku turned, quickly blocking the windowsill with his back. He nudged the chipmunks towards the tree branches with his fingers. 

"Nothing," he lied quickly. "The window was still open, they probably went back out while you were gone."

"Ugh, useless," Ienzo complained, scowling. "Just get out, then!"

Relieved that Ienzo wasn't demanding Riku stay and search longer, Riku checked over his shoulder to make sure the chipmunks were gone and then went for the door before Ienzo thought of anything else to make Riku do. When he pulled open the door, however, Master Ansem was blocking it, making Riku's breath catch in surprise. Ansem was in his usual dark academic's robes, his calm, cold stare making Riku's heart sink. 

"You two certainly seem in high spirits this morning," Ansem commented, eyes taking in the scene in an instant. "Do either of you care to tell me why you felt the need to arouse the entire household at this hour?"

Riku doubted very much that Larxene or Marluxia had so much as opened one eyelid yet, but answered calmly, "Ienzo said some chipmunks got into his laboratory somehow."

"You know exactly how, you put them there!" Ienzo exclaimed. "A childish prank, to ruin my work!" 

"I was downstairs starting breakfast," Riku argued, patience fraying. "How could I have possibly—"

"And yet, I do not yet see breakfast," Ansem cut in smoothly. "So it seems we have plenty of time to engage in fun. A little too much free time on our hands, Riku?"

The unfairness of the accusation and the obvious falseness of it burned in Riku's lungs, but he pressed his lips firmly together. Arguing never brought him anything but more work, and it was clear that he would be punished for nothing either way. 

"The windows need to be washed, upstairs and down," Ansem announced. "The library is in disarray. And the grand staircase certainly could use scrubbing."

Riku's control of his temper slipped. "But I just—"

"Do it again!" Ansem barked. "Properly this time. And Ienzo, whatever experiment you call this mess in here, I suggest you clean it up immediately or country vermin will be the least of your problems!"

"Yes, Master Ansem," Ienzo answered sulkily. Ansem eyed Riku. 

"Yes, Master Ansem," Riku echoed. 

"Excellent. Now perhaps we might have breakfast slightly before it is time for lunch? One more thing, Riku. I didn't notice your ethics essay on my desk this morning. Perhaps chipmunks have carried that off as well. I expect it this afternoon."

Riku had absolutely put his essay on Ansem's desk last night before going to bed. This also he didn't even bother to argue about, as whenever Ansem was in a bad temper Riku's assignments were 'lost' or 'went missing' and he was required to rewrite them. 

It was the smallest of mercies that Riku had been excused from lessons with the others some time ago, around the time Ansem had taken on Marluxia and Larxene as students. Both had been chosen not for any sort of academic prowess but for their aristocratic bloodlines and social potential; Ansem quickly had grown tired of watching Riku effortlessly outperform them at every lesson, not to mention Larxene's particularly shrill displeasure at being compared. The two had barely been in the house for a month before Ansem declared that lessons would continue in the afternoons as usual for Ienzo, Larxene, and Marluxia, while Riku could manage his studies by being assigned reading and essays. 

The amount of reading and writing Riku was assigned was perpetually unmanageable, but Riku vastly preferred it to being trapped in the library with the four of them. Even now, scrubbing the hall steps within earshot of the library doors, Riku couldn't help but wince at Marluxia and Larxene massacring French verb conjugations. 

"I'd rather scrub these steps a hundred times than be back in there," Riku told Mickey as he shifted the bucket a couple steps down. The mice were hanging about as Riku worked, chasing bubbles or chattering at him to keep him company. 

Mickey, on the top step, drew himself up onto his hind legs and did a pompous impression of Ansem in teacher mode, squeaking a command. Minnie stuck her nose in the air and imitated Larxene's verb paradigm, shrill and off-key. Mickey answered a clear "No, no, no!" and turned to Riku.

"Me, Master Ansem?" Riku asked, playing along. "Certainly. _J'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons…_ " Mickey interrupted sharply. "Ah, the subjunctive, of course. _Aie, aies, ait, ayons…_ "

[](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1270903790875684871)

Mickey and Minnie fell all over themselves laughing, and Riku couldn't help but chuckle as well. If only the mice's handwriting was good enough to help him rewrite his essay, but it would never do to turn in work covered in inky mouse footprints. 

Riku had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the bell for the front door rang. Dropping his brush back into the bucket, Riku stood and winced as his back and knees cracked when he straightened. The bell rang twice more, more sharply, in the time that it took Riku to cross the front hall, wiping his hands off on his work apron. 

"All right, all right," Riku muttered, schooling his face back into polite neutrality as he yanked the door open. "Yes?"

It was a royal messenger, done up in the crisp white uniform of Destiny Castle with the royal insignia embroidered in gold. He eyed Riku's disheveled hair and damp shirtsleeves with a flat stare that made Riku reach up to adjust his bandana before he could stop himself. 

"The master of the house, if you please," the messenger asked, no-nonsense. 

"He's in the middle of lessons, sir," Riku answered. 

"Then fetch him, boy, and quickly," the messenger said snappishly. "Do you think you are the only household I have to deliver invitations for?"

"Of course not. Please come in." Riku stood aside to let the royal messenger into the hall, pushing the door shut behind him. He scooped up the bucket on the way by, tucking it around the corner of the stairs so that it was out of sight, and eyed the stairs as he started up them to make sure they were dry enough for Ansem not to complain about that either. 

Outside the closed door of the library, Riku paused to brace himself, then knocked. Nothing happened at first, and Riku was raising his hand to try again when the door was yanked open abruptly to reveal Ansem glowering at him. 

"I've warned you not to interrupt—" 

"There's a messenger from the castle here," Riku said quickly, taking a step back so that Ansem could see the man for himself at the bottom of the stairs. The royal insignia was obvious even at a distance. 

"From the castle!" Larxene exclaimed, materializing behind Ansem's shoulder as quickly as if she'd teleported. Marluxia appeared as well, causing a brief scuffle at the doorway as they both tried to look at once. 

"Compose yourselves!" Ansem ordered. He swept past Riku and down the stairs, black robes fluttering from the speed of it. "My apologies for the rude reception, allow me to show you to the sitting parlor. Riku, the tea, at once!" 

"I haven't got time for tea," snapped the messenger, waving his stack of envelopes about. "I'm to hand these to Master Ansem personally and then be on my way!"

"Oh, but you must be tired, surely a few moments' rest is in order in this heat," Ansem coaxed as he reached the bottom of the staircase. He could be charming enough when he wanted to, and he'd certainly cajoled an hour's worth of court gossip out of more reluctant messengers than this one. "Something stronger than tea, perhaps?"

That seemed to hit the mark. "A few minutes won't be missed, I suppose. The heat, you know…"

"Of course not, right this way." Ansem ushered the man towards the sitting parlor, sparing a warning glance back up the stairs. "What are you standing there gawking like pigeons for?" he hissed. "You two, back to your lessons! Riku, tea and brandy!" 

"What's the big message, do you think?" Larxene asked, leaning even further over the stair railing to see better. 

Marluxia eyed her like she was an idiot. "It's the summer ball, of course."

"Even I know that," Ienzo piped up from behind Larxene, having also appeared to see what was holding up the lesson. "Not that I care about something so vapid and dull."

"Your FACE is vapid and dull!" Larxene retorted, whirling around to give Ienzo a shove. Riku snorted before he could stop himself, drawing their attention to him. "And just what are _you_ laughing at? Not like one of those invitations is for you, Cinderiku."

"Oh, come now, don't you think he'd cut a dashing figure?" Marluxia said, leaning in uncomfortably close to twirl one of Riku's loose pieces of hair around his finger. "Marking out the waltz steps in soot footprints. And I hear that bandanas are _all_ the rage at the castle this season."

"Yeah, among the scullery maids!" Larxene chuckled spitefully. 

"RIKU!" barked Ansem's voice from downstairs. 

"Coming!" Riku answered, ducking out of Marluxia's grip and hurrying down the stairs. 

Any other day, Riku could easily brush off their insults, but today Riku found Marluxia and Larxene's words echoing in his head as he gathered a tray of teacups and measured out tea leaves. Riku had decided years ago that the day he came of age he'd leave this house for good; any fondness for it as his home had been long ago erased by Ansem's presence. His father had sought his fortune across the sea, and Riku meant to do the same. 

Riku would turn eighteen in the fall. That meant that this summer would be the very last summer ball that he'd be home for. His last chance to see—

"Stop dreaming," he chastised himself, setting the teapot on the tray hard enough to rattle the teacups. The kitchen bell corded to the parlor rang so sharply it was a wonder that it didn't break off. Riku clenched his jaw and picked up the tray, balancing it on one hand so that he could grab the brandy off the dining room's sideboard on the way by. 

"At last," Ansem said icily when Riku appeared. Riku didn't bat an eye; there was a limit to how much punishment even Ansem could invent in a single day, and Riku had already surpassed it before eight that morning. It didn't seem as if Ansem had needed the alcohol to get the messenger gossiping, not that it stopped the man from sloshing a liberal amount of brandy into his teacup. 

"Not to be missed, as I said," he picked up where Riku's entry had interrupted him. "His majesty is pulling out all the stops this year, demanding it absolutely must be a triumph!"

"As every summer's end ball is, certainly," Ansem commented. 

"No, nothing like this. You mean you haven't heard?" The messenger leaned in, delighted to break the news. Riku couldn't help but lean in a little as well as he poured Ansem's tea, curious despite himself. "The crown prince is to be engaged!" 

"Engaged?" Ansem demanded sharply, just as Riku fumbled the teapot. "To whom?"

"It's anyone's guess," the messenger continued, settling back into his chair with a smug expression. "His majesty, the king, has given the prince an ultimatum that he must choose a bride and announce his engagement by midnight on the third night of the ball!" 

Realizing his teacup was empty, the messenger held it out for a refill. Riku's hands were shaking so that he nearly poured the tea into the man's lap before he grabbed the front of the teapot with his other hand, wincing at the heat of the porcelain. 

"That will be all," Ansem said, glancing up as if just remembering Riku's presence. Riku set down the teapot and walked to the door as quickly as he could without making it seem like he was rushing. Once the parlor's doors were shut firmly behind him, Riku leaned back against them, thoughts tripping over each other. 

Sora would be engaged. Sora was getting _married_. Riku closed his eyes and wished, wished more fiercely than he'd wished anything in years, that he could see his friend just one more time. 

"CINDERIKU!" Marluxia's voice echoed down the stairs, shrill and inescapable. 

"Coming," Riku muttered, drawing in one deep breath and then another. He forced himself to take one step, and then another. "I'm coming."

Dark clouds were rolling in by the time Ansem saw the messenger off, and while they looked ominous, they were actually a stroke of excellent luck for Riku. Once the summer thunderstorm began pounding the house, there was no possibility of Riku being sent out to do the windows, leaving him the latter half of the afternoon to write his essay. The downpour also cooled everything down so that the temperature in his attic room became bearable, even if it was still humid enough to curl paper. Riku was relieved to retreat to his room and shut the door, everyone else on the other side. 

It was gloomy enough that Riku lit a candle before he went to work at his desk. He'd written half a page before the mice scurried up the desk leg from the floor to keep him company. They watched him scribble a few more lines before Minnie squeaked inquisitively. 

"Eavesdropping, were you?" Riku asked mildly. "Yes, it was the ball invitations." Mickey and Minnie began chattering to each other excitedly. "I'm not sure what's so exciting about that to you. What would a pair of mice even do at a royal ball?"

Mickey and Minnie stood up on their hind legs, grasped paws, and hopped around in a circle, tails flicking cutely. 

"Adorable," Riku chuckled. "Even the king himself would be charmed." Behind him, there was some chittering from the rafters, and then a small weight flopped down on Riku's head. Riku paused writing long enough to reach up and pat Komory. "You're up early. Storm wake you up?"

Komory chirped sleepily and snuggled facedown on Riku's bandana, wings flopping down to either side. He probably looked like he had a demented hair bow, Riku thought, going back to his work. He only had only written a few sentences, though, before the mice interrupted his concentration again, not done with the topic of the ball. 

"Come on, guys, I've told you about the ball a hundred times," Riku protested. "It's not even a good story. You don't really want to hear it again, do you?"

Mickey and Minnie both settled on their hind legs, whiskers twitching expectantly. Riku sighed. 

"All right, all right." Riku had already written this essay once, so he didn't have to concentrate that deeply on it. He'd told the mice about the ball so many times that the words were always the same at this point, as if he was reading it from a storybook. "The palace gates open at sundown, and the whole castle is lit up, every window, so bright it's like it's still daytime. When you come into the hall, a man calls your name and house so everyone can hear, and you walk down a huge staircase so everyone must see you. All the women wear jewels and huge gowns and all the men have boots and waxed mustaches, and when they dance, the feathers in the women's hair and all their skirts layers make them look like silly birds."

Minnie sighed dreamily; Mickey wrinkled his nose. 

"And food, so much food," Riku continued, perking Mickey up. "Tables as long as you can see covered in pastries and spun-sugar stars, macarons and cream puffs and punch and candied nuts—" The mice interrupted when they didn't hear their favorite part right away. "Yes, of course, and cheese. At least twenty-five kinds! Fruits from all over the world, tangerines and mangoes and pineapple. And a cake covered in sugar flowers, taller than me! The gardens are strung with lanterns and everything smells like honeysuckle. And at the end of the night, the fireworks…" Riku trailed off, looking out the window where, for three nights every summer for the last ten years, he'd watched the highest fireworks just over the tops of the trees. 

Komory gave a derisive squawk, not very big on fireworks, or anything that was loud and bright. 

"You sound like Sora," Riku said without thinking. Mickey and Minnie both chattered in interest; Riku hadn't ever included Sora in the story before, wanting to keep the part of the memory that hurt the most to himself. "Sora was my friend, a long time ago. He used to be scared of the fireworks too." Minnie chirped sharply, and Riku raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Prince Sora. You really have been eavesdropping, haven't you? Better hope Master Ansem doesn't catch you at it."

Minnie preened her whiskers smugly. Komory dropped down to hang in front of Riku's face suddenly, keeping her grip by digging her claws into Riku's hair and chirping some questions of her own.

"No, I haven't seen him in years, we were very little." Riku reached up to peel Komory's claws out of his hair and set her down the desk next to the mice. "Even if I had an invitation to the ball, I'm sure he's forgotten all about me. Princes are busy, you know. Doing royal things."

The mice and the bat exchanged glances, all looking dubious. 

"All right, that's enough story time," Riku declared, pointedly looking down at his essay. "No more distractions from you lot, I have to have this finished before dinner."

Riku had already had two strokes of luck: the thunderstorm and Ansem's jovial mood now that he had both his invitations and the royal gossip. To hope for a third was definitely folly, but somehow at breakfast the next morning, another piece of luck did indeed occur. 

"I'm not going," Ienzo announced, face set petulantly. Riku paused with a croissant halfway to Marluxia's plate. Larxene and Marluxia both turned to watch Ansem's reaction. 

Ansem folded his napkin calmly. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said I'm not _going_ ," Ienzo enunciated. "To the ball. I'm far too busy. I have lessons, and experiments that need to be watched. It's hot, and long, and full of stuffy people whose names and titles I have no need of remembering, telling boring stories about themselves, and I'm not going!"

"May I go?" Riku asked, the words falling from his mouth before he could stop them. Marluxia and Larxene's heads turned from Ienzo to Riku to Ansem as if they were at a badminton tournament. Riku set down the croissant quickly before he dropped it. "If Ienzo isn't going, you have an extra invitation."

"Perfect!" Ienzo exclaimed, slumping in his chair. "Thank god."

"You?!" Marluxia gasped, so horrified he forgot to attach an insult to it. 

"The invitations are addressed 'to any member of the household,'" Riku pointed out, remembering well enough the wording of the ball invitations.

"That doesn't mean the staff!" Larxene exclaimed, snickering. 

Riku eyed her evenly. "I'm as well-born as you are." Two bright spots of pink appeared on Larxene's cheeks, but as she opened her mouth, Ansem interrupted. 

"I see no reason why not," he said. Larxene and Marluxia's jaws dropped, and even Riku was momentarily stunned. 

"You must be joking," Marluxia spoke up first. "We'd be shamed just bringing him in with us!"

Larxene joined in. "And his _clothes_ —"

Ansem held up a hand for silence. "The invitation indeed is to all the household, including all of my students. Given that we have an extra invitation, I see no reason Riku cannot attend." Ansem met Riku's gaze. "Provided his chores and lessons are done, and that he is on his best behavior between now and then."

"Yes, Master Ansem," Riku said breathlessly, heart racing. There had to be a downside, surely, but Riku couldn't see it at the moment. "Of course!" 

"And that you find something…suitable to wear." Ansem let the slow drag of his gaze over Riku head-to-foot express how likely he thought that to be. 

"Master Ansem, you can't!" Marluxia protested, slamming a hand down on the table. Larxene's mouth was moving but no words were coming out, just angry huffs of air. 

"Compose yourself," Ansem ordered, voice like ice. Marluxia and Larxene's mouths both shut with a snap. "I think you'll find, dear student, that as master of this house, I can do as I wish. Do you disagree?"

"No, Master Ansem," Marluxia muttered, giving Riku a glare so fierce it could have peeled the wallpaper straight off the wall.

Riku escaped from breakfast to the kitchen in a daze, shocked by both his own daring and the opportunity he was being offered, however many conditions it came with. Riku hadn't felt hope about anything in so long that now his whole chest was alight with it, no matter how sternly he tried to tell himself to not get too excited, to not wish for anything he couldn't bear to lose. As soon as the dishes were washed and put away, Riku dashed up to his room to try to collect himself. Even the stifling heat of the attic couldn't dampen his mood. 

"I can't believe he said yes," Riku muttered to himself, arms folded on the cool stone of the windowsill. The castle didn't look quite so far away as it had yesterday, but Riku could hardly imagine being there again after all this time. The mice had already heard his news, the little spies, and were scampering underfoot with excitement. "But what on earth can I wear…"

A burst of squeaking behind him made Riku turn. Mickey was on top of his father's old trunk, hopping up and down. Frowning, Riku went over and held his hand out for the mouse to run up to his shoulder, then undid the latch. What little Riku had left of his father was inside it, but it had been years since he last opened it. 

"I can't imagine what you think will be helpful in here," Riku said, pushing up the lid. "There's just his books and…oh." One of his father's coats was folded neatly, red velvet with gold buttons, lace at the wrists. It had been his father's favorite. Riku brushed fingers over the velvet for a second before pulling the coat out and shaking it out. When he'd packed his father's clothes away, he hadn't been able to imagine himself ever being tall enough to wear them; with a start, he realized that now, after his last year's growth spurt, the coat would likely fit him quite well. 

Minnie had a few things to say about the style, however.

"All right, so it's a bit dated," Riku admitted, turning the coat around to check for tears or moth holes. "But the cut's all right, and the color's still in style." He could bleach one of his better shirts, not much of it would show under the coat, and his boots were decent enough. "The velvet's only a little creased. Maybe I can do something about the lace…"

"CINDERIKU!" Larxene's voice carried up the stairs like the screech of seagull. 

"Oh, what now?" Riku grumbled. There was no use in trying to ignore it; she'd only get louder, and Marluxia or Ansem would be adding to it in a minute, no doubt. Riku closed the trunk and stood up, draping the coat over top of the lid. It certainly needed airing out, and maybe the velvet would puff back up a bit. "This will have to wait, I suppose."

"CINDERIKU!" Marluxia hollered next, sure enough. 

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Riku sighed, pulling the door shut behind him on the way out. 

He hadn't noticed the mice exchanging looks that meant they were definitely up to something, and he was long gone before Mickey scurried up an exposed beam to the rafters and shook Komory until she lifted one wing to glare at the mouse balefully. 

Marluxia, and Larxene had no trouble inventing an endless stream of tasks to keep Riku busy for the rest of the day. Besides the expected rounds of laundry and meals, Marluxia and Larxene seemed determined to try on and then find fault with every piece of clothing they collectively owned. Riku found it exhausting just to watch them, not to mention having to pick up, iron, and put away everything they left lying in their wake. Ienzo at least confined himself in his laboratory, as if hoping that Ansem would forget about him if not reminded of his existence. 

Long after night fell, Riku was so exhausted from being called in every direction that he dragged himself up to his bed and flopped into it still fully clothed. He regretted it when he had a nightmare that he'd been shrunk to the size of a mouse and was caught in a heap of laundry that kept growing and growing, suffocating him. He woke up sweat-soaked and tangled in his blanket, heart racing as he tried to reorient himself in his pitch-black room. Something brushed against his face, making him yelp, but it was only Komory, clicking softly in concern. 

"Just a dream," Riku panted, starting to calm down. He peeled his sweat-damp shirt off and laid back down, wrapping his blanket tight around his shoulders for comfort despite how warm it was. Komory hovered close, shifting from foot to foot on Riku's pillow, still fussing over him. Riku blew a puff of air at her. "I'm fine, don't hover. Shoo, go on." 

Ignoring him, Komory climbed up into his tangled hair and started tugging pieces of it this way and that with her claws, grooming him as if comforting another bat. Riku grumbled softly but was too tired and sore to chase her off; eventually he fell back asleep. 

Ansem was in fine form the next morning, having saved his demands on Riku's time to drop them all at once. He announced at breakfast that lessons were canceled for the day, and that he, Marluxia, and Larxene would be in town to shop for their ball attire. In their absence, Riku was to put the library back to order as well as see to his own assignments. Any sense of relief Riku felt at seeing the three of them leave for hours melted away as soon as he opened the library door and got a good look at the state of it. 

It was a disaster, to put it mildly. If there'd been an earthquake, it probably would have knocked fewer books from the shelves. It looked roughly like a dozen students had all been trying to write a research paper at once, all about different topics, all in a desperate panic. The only surface that wasn't cluttered over with haphazard stacks of books was the table Ansem had set Riku's reading on, a book heavy enough to be used as a deadly weapon. To make everything worse, Ansem had shut the windows so that now the room radiated trapped heat from the sun streaming in the eastern windows all morning. 

Either the reading or the mess would have taken most of a day on their own; combined they were obviously and maliciously impossible. Riku tried to dredge up some surprise, and could not. He rolled up his sleeves and went first to open the windows, sighing in relief at the breeze brushing his face. 

After he had taken care of the windows, Riku turned to the nearest table to start sorting the mess. When he reached for the first book, however, it scooted away from his hand.

"What on earth?" Riku asked. He made a more successful grab on the second try, and when he lifted the book, two familiar faces blinked up him, whiskers twitching. Riku rolled his eyes. "That's very cute, you two. But I hardly think two mice are going to reshelve an entire library, don't you?"

Mickey stood up his hind legs and whistled a sharp, high note. Riku didn't even know mice _could_ whistle, but that revelation was overshadowed by the fact that suddenly a lot more mice began appearing in the corners of the room, dashing along the baseboards and climbing up the table legs. A minute later, books all over the room were being shifted in all directions by dozens of mice underneath them, as if the whole library had become abruptly haunted. 

"Think you're clever, do you?" Riku asked, crossing his arms. "How are you planning to get them up onto the shelves?"

The bats arrived just then, just as many of them as the mice, bumping into each other sleepily as they flapped in through the open windows. They didn't look happy to be awake and they squeaked complaints the whole time, but they didn't waste any time gripping the books the mice hauled near the shelves, three or four bats to a book, and flew them up to the higher shelves to slot them neatly into place. Komory took up a spot on top of one of the shelves and started directing traffic imperiously, sending groups of bats into different sections of shelves. 

"That's…" Riku rubbed at his face, wondering if this was another bizarre anxiety dream. He glanced down at Mickey and Minnie, both watching him expectantly. "How do you know where to put the books? Can you guys even read?"

Minnie sniffed, paws clutched to her chest as if to say, "Well, I _never_." Mickey made shooing motions towards the table with Riku's reading assignment. 

"Suit yourself, I suppose," Riku said dubiously as he picked his way across the floor to avoid stepping on any books zipping past him. He wasn't sure bats and mice could really organize a whole library, but on the other hand, he certainly couldn't do both tasks on his own, so he might as well try to finish one successfully. 

Dropping heavily into the uncomfortable wooden chair, Riku flipped the cover of his assigned book open. He groaned when he saw Master Raxip's name listed on the title page; Raxip's longwinded sentences and pedantic style had been the reason for Riku falling asleep on the hearth more than once. To assign him on a hot summer afternoon was absolute torture. 

"Chapter One," Riku read; sometimes reading it out loud made it at least a little bit funny. One mouse scampering by paused, tilting his head to listen. "A Brief History of the Destiny Islands, Their Environs, Topical Geography, and Chief Exports…"

The mouse shook his head and scampered off; Riku envied him deeply. 

Riku would have taken all afternoon to set the library to rights, but the animals had it done in an hour due to their sheer numbers, as well as Mickey, Minnie, and Komory's cleverness. Riku fetched the mice a tray of cheese and fruit in thanks for their efforts; the bats wanted nothing except to go back to sleep out under their banana leaves. 

The look on Ansem's face when he returned and flung the library doors open, only to find the room pristine, was absolutely priceless. 

"Back already?" Riku asked casually. He blew on the ink of his last few sentences to dry it, then tapped his papers into a neat pile and stood. "Should I leave this on your desk, or do you want to take them now?" 

Riku was almost whistling as he sailed from the room, the entire afternoon very satisfying. 

Ansem's demands during dinner were all the more unreasonable, again keeping Riku busy until long after dark. After he'd been dismissed for the night, Riku tried to start working on his father's coat, but he only managed to get as far as finding an illustration of a more current style before he was falling asleep sitting up. Leaving the book open on his desk, he crawled into bed and dropped off immediately. 

This time the nightmare was that Riku barely made it to the ball as the clocktower was striking midnight, only to find that it was a lecture by Master Raxip himself, and all the other students in the room had Ansem's face when they turned around to glare at Riku. Riku jerked awake, heart pounding, then started laughing helplessly at how ridiculous that was. 

The next morning a tidal wave of boxes began arriving just after breakfast, the results of yesterday's shopping trip. Larxene and Marluxia tore into the boxes, purposely making as big a mess as possible with ribbon and tissue paper going in all directions. Riku would have spent the entire morning cleaning up after them if the mice hadn't come to his rescue yet again: whenever Marluxia and Larxene's backs were turned, the mice would dart from the corners to whisk away any scraps or string that they could carry. 

When that failed to keep Riku busy enough, Ansem invented yet another task. 

"Hazelnuts," he declared, handing Riku a basket large enough to carry half a dozen cabbages. "We must have hazelnuts this afternoon at tea, for good luck. Go gather them, and do not return until that basket is full."

There were several large hazel trees along the back wall of the gardens, as hazelnuts had been a favorite of Riku's father when he was still alive. The trees were majestic, nearly the height of the house. A month from now, they would be heavy with ripe nuts, but now in the dog days of summer, only the nuts at the very tops of the trees, where they got the most sun, were even close to edible. 

Like the task before, for Riku to gather an entire basket was obviously impossible. For a long minute, Riku simply stood there, looking up at the trees and thinking about what to do next. Suddenly one of the branches over his head rustled, and then two familiar faces popped out of the leaves, one with a red nose, the other a black nose.

"You two?" Riku asked, surprised to see the chipmunks again. The chipmunks nodded, their tiny tails wiggling with excitement. "Hello again. I don't suppose you could help me? I'm supposed to fill this basket with hazelnuts but none of the ones I can reach are ripe yet."

The words were barely out of Riku's mouth before the chipmunks zipped back up the tree. 

"I suppose not," Riku sighed, dejected. 

Then, suddenly, it was as if the whole tree came to life, branches shaking all the way up to the top. Shaking off the idea of a possessed tree, not that it was the most ridiculous thing he'd seen this week, Riku shaded his eyes with his hand and looked more carefully. It was chipmunks, an unbelievable number of them, their sleek fur flashing in the sunlight as they darted up and down the tree checking hazelnuts. Before Riku could utter a word, nuts began to rain down steadily into the basket. 

"Ow!" Riku yelped as a stray nut bounced off the top of his head instead of into the basket. "Watch it, please!"

In less than an hour, Riku's basket was full to the brim. He thanked the animals, hefted the basket up, and headed back to the manor in high spirits. 

The annoyance on Ansem's face when presented with the hazelnuts was well worth the effort, although even this miracle did not free Riku to work on his father's coat. The entire afternoon was absorbed by being compelled to help Marluxia and Larxene dress for the first night of the ball. The two of them and Ansem kept Riku running in circles until he was dizzy from it. He only managed to slip away at half past six; Ansem had said in no uncertain terms Riku must be in the front hall at seven o'clock sharp, or be left behind. 

The coat would have to do the way it was, Riku thought sadly as he ran the stairs up to the attic as quickly as he dared. If it happened to be so far out of style that it was nearly back in again, there was nothing to do for it now. Riku paused to catch his breath a moment when he reached the top landing. Over the rasp of his breathing, he heard some fuss from inside his room that sounded…musical?

"What on earth?" Riku muttered to himself, pushing his door open. "Are you guys singing? I swear, everything around here keeps getting weirder and w…"

Riku trailed off as he got a good look at his room. His father's coat was still hung on the sewing form he'd hauled upstairs, but much altered from the way it had looked that morning. The stiff lace had been removed from the cuffs of the coat and sewn back down the center of Riku's whitest linen shirt. The loose buttons and some of the embroidery had been repaired, and the velvet had been fluffed back up, the creases gone. His boots were nearby, polished perfectly. Mickey and Minnie were sitting on the shoulders of the coat, looking very smug; Komory meanwhile was perched on a pair of scissors they had somehow strung up with a string pulled over a rafter. 

"Did you do this?" Riku asked, coming closer to look at their work in amazement. It wasn't exactly all the rage at court this season, but it was certainly an impressive job for two mice and a bat, Riku had to admit. "I can't believe it. Thank you!"

Mickey and Minnie scurried back and forth across the sewing form's shoulders, urging Riku to hurry up and try it on. Komory flapped her wings in excitement, sending the pair of scissors swinging. 

"Whoa there!" Riku said, reaching out to grab the scissor handles. He offered his arm for Komory to hop onto before tugging the scissors down from their rigging system. "That's enough of that. Eyepatches are definitely not in style at court."

It was the work of minutes for Riku to pull on the shirt and coat; the lace hid the rough quality of the linen since the coat covered the rest of it. His father's pants were a bit tight, especially around Riku's thighs, but Minnie insisted that was not a problem from behind. Riku had just enough time to tame his hair with some water and a ribbon, then dash down the stairs to meet the others in the front hall. Ansem and the others were already by the door, clearly hoping to slip out a few minutes early. 

"Wait!" Riku called, gripping the staircase railing tightly in case one of his boots slipped off the marble. "I'm here! I'm ready!" 

It wasn't until Riku hit the bottom stair and looked up properly that he realized it was not only Larxene and Marluxia done up in their velvet and feathers, but Ienzo as well. Ienzo looked extremely uncomfortable in his slate blue jacket and cravat, and dropped his gaze to the floor when it met Riku's. 

Riku's stomach dropped. 

"So it seems," Ansem said. "Alas, Ienzo has had a change of heart, so we are unfortunately one invitation short. I'm afraid you'll have to stay behind after all."

Riku felt cold fury start in the pit of his stomach and crawl up into his throat, so angry that he couldn't even move, much less speak or argue. He realized with terrible clarity that Ansem had been toying with him, and Ienzo, stringing both of them along for days for the sheer sadistic pleasure of doing so. 

"It's for the best, really," Ansem continued, eyeing Riku's attire from jacket to boots. "Where on earth did you find that relic? You'd be a shame to the household in such out-of-date attire." Ansem threw the door open and waved the others out. "Hurry now, or we'll be late." When the others had gone past, Ansem gave Riku one last look of deep satisfaction, smile cruel. "Goodnight, Riku."

The click of the door shutting seemed to echo in the empty hall. Riku stood there, still as stone, until their voices had faded away, and the clatter of the horses and the carriage rattling off down the drive. Eventually he turned, stiff as a tin soldier, and strode across the hall, through the kitchen, and out to the yard. Even there he didn't stop, but continued out to the hazel trees, where that very afternoon he'd been so pleased with himself. 

There was a bench there, where his father had often sat in fine weather. Riku threw himself down on it on his back. The branches of the hazel trees above him blocked the sight of the stars coming out one by one in evening's twilight. Riku hated the trees for blocking the stars, and the stars for shining as if everything was still fine, and hated himself most of all, all of his frustration turning inward. 

"You _idiot_ ," he snarled to himself. It had been a long time since Ansem had succeeded in getting under his skin this deeply, and Riku had forgotten precisely how much it hurt. "What did you think was going to happen?! As if books and hazelnuts would change _anything_ , as if there was any point in something as stupid as dreaming—" 

Riku cut off, his voice choked silent by the tightness of his throat. It had been years since Riku had cried, but he did now, all his frustration and anger welling up in hot tears that slid down his temples without his permission. Riku squeezed his eyes shut, helpless to make them stop. 

"Oh, but you don't believe that, do you?" a sweet voice asked, right above Riku. Riku's eyes snapped open in surprise; a girl was leaning over him, hair blonde as cornsilk spilling over one shoulder, blue eyes twinkling merrily as stars. "If you really thought dreaming was stupid, I couldn't be here. And here I am!"

Riku sat up, sliding to the other end of the bench. He glared at the girl, ruffled and suspicious. She was tiny; while standing she was eye to eye with Riku, even though he was sitting on the bench. She was wearing a cloak the blue of last twilight, fine and light as spiderwebs. "Who are you?"

"I'm Naminé," the girl said, smiling as if Riku had greeted her pleasantly. "Your fairy godmother, of course."

"Godmother?" Riku asked, raising one eyebrow. "You don't even look old enough to be my fairy older sister."

Naminé laughed, the sound like bells. "Aren't you sweet! Well, then a friend, at least. You could use one just now, couldn't you?"

"I have friends," Riku snapped stiffly. 

"Hm, it seems you do." Naminé reached up to the branch above her head and the two chipmunks appeared, stepping onto her hand without hesitation. Mickey and Minnie arrived just then as well, climbing nimbly up Riku's boot to the bench, between Naminé and Riku as if protecting him. Naminé set the chipmunks down on the bench; the mice and the chipmunks blinked at each other. "What loyal friends indeed! Now where is that last one, I wonder?"

Riku opened his mouth to answer just as Komory dive-bombed his head, flapping about anxiously and kneading at his hair with her claws, mussing up his work with the comb earlier. 

"There you are!" Naminé reached over to pat Komory on the head; the bat paused, giving a confused squeak. "Well, now that we're all here, we'd better get started…" Naminé began to pat down her cloak. "Oh, where is that blasted thing?"

"Started on what?" Riku had no idea what was going on, and no patience to figure it out. "Listen, no offense, but I'm not having the best of evenings, and all I want is to—"

"Go to the ball, I know," Naminé interrupted. She pulled a slender, white wand out of a pocket and gave it a test flick, a starburst of light showering down from the tip. "Aha! Gotcha. Now be a dear and find me a coconut."

"A _what?_ " Riku demanded as Naminé seized his hand and hauled him off the bench. 

"A coconut! The brown furry things that fall off palm trees? A pumpkin would be more ideal, but we are on an island in the summer, and beggars can't be choosers." Naminé shooed him off impatiently. "Go on! Hurry! Even miracles take a little time, you know."

Riku went, too baffled to argue. Along the edges of the garden, a few of the native palm trees leaned over the wall, so it didn't take long to locate a dropped coconut. When he returned to the bench, Naminé seemed to be arguing with the mice. 

"Oh, but think how big and lovely you'd be!" she coaxed. Mickey and Minnie flicked their tails, unimpressed, so Naminé turned to the chipmunks instead. "How about you two? You'll be my fine, helpful fellows, won't you? Oh, you're back," Naminé said, noticing Riku standing awkwardly behind her. She plucked the coconut out of his hand, rapping it sharply with her knuckles. "Hm, a bit underripe, but it'll have to do." She set the coconut down on the ground and stepped back, dragging Riku along by the sleeve. "Now, the magic words."

"Please?" Riku offered. 

"Oh, for goodness sake," Naminé said, exasperated. "It's a good thing you're cute. The _magic_ words. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

With a snap of her wrist, ribbons of light shot from Naminé's wand, twirling around the coconut. It lifted into the air, glowing brighter and brighter until Riku had to close his eyes. There was a _thud_ of something heavy hitting the ground, and when Riku opened his eyes, a handsome carriage gleamed in front of him, made all of dark wood with silver trim. 

"Haven't lost my touch, have I?" Naminé said smugly while Riku's mouth fell open. "Now for the horses…ah ah ah, you two can't escape me!" She shot another burst of magic as the chipmunks tried to dash off, turning them into a magnificent pair of white horses. 

The chipmunks—horses—took one look at each other and whinnied in fear, ears flat. 

"There there, you big babies," Naminé said, strolling over to pat both horses on the nose. Another flick of her wand and they were joined to the carriage, all their trappings silver to match it. "A driver next, I think, and a footman."

Mickey squeaked for attention, and when Naminé and Riku turned, was stretched on his hind legs on the bench. Minnie was edging away, but it was already too late; Naminé zapped them like a sharpshooter. A moment later, the mice were human, dressed in sharp coats of white and silver; Mickey with a tricorn hat and Minnie with her red ribbon around a jet-black braid. They blinked at each other.

"Haha!" Mickey laughed at Minnie, then slapped his hands over his mouth at Minnie's glare. 

"Last but not least is you!" Naminé said brightly, turning to Riku. 

"Me?" Riku asked, dazed. 

"I suppose we could send you to the ball in riding boots and a coat from the turn of the last century, but I should think I could do better than that." Naminé stretched up on her toes to offer her free hand to Komory. "Better hop off, little dear, unless you want to be turned into a hair bow." Chittering dubiously, Komory released her death grip on Riku's hair and flapped down into Naminé's hand. Naminé tucked the bat into her hood, then pushed up her sleeves. "Here's hoping I've got plenty of magic left, because that outfit—"

"Wait!" Riku protested as Naminé pointed her wand at him. She paused, one eyebrow arched. "Please don't. This coat was my father's."

Naminé's expression softened. "Oh, you dear boy. The magic will only last until midnight, and then everything will be as it was before, mice, coconut, and coat. But if you really don't want me to, it's your wish. As you are, I'm sure you would leave quite an impression on the prince."

Riku grimaced. Holding his arms out wide, he squeezed his eyes shut. "Hit me."

Naminé's magic was gentler than Riku had imagined, like bubbles popping against his skin all over at once, as if he'd been dunked in a flute of champagne. When the tickle of it subsided, Riku cautiously opened one eye, and his breath caught. His red coat had turned blue as the heavens, silver stars embroidered all over, delicate lace at his wrists and throat. Underneath that, perfectly fit dove gray pants led down into black boots, their tops turned down stylishly at his knees, the leather butter soft. His hair, when he reached up to touch it, was tied back in a french braid, the ribbon a match to his coat. 

[](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1270903790875684871)

"Very dashing, I don't mind saying so myself," Naminé said, eyeing her work critically. Peering over her shoulder, Komory cheeped in agreement. Naminé clapped her hands. "Now in you go, hurry up! The ball won't wait just for you, I'm afraid!"

"Listen, this is all," Riku gestured to himself, and then the carriage and the horses, and Mickey and Minnie squabbling over the driver's seat, "very nice, it's more than I deserve. But it doesn't matter! I don't have an invitation, and when Master Ansem sees me—"

"Oh pish." Naminé waved her wand dismissively, sending off a tiny firework. "Do you think magic is just for velvet coats and coconut carriages?"

"Yes?" Riku hedged. "I mean, so far." Naminé thwapped him on the head with her wand. "Ouch!"

"Have some faith," Naminé admonished. "Lucky for you, I'm a memory fairy. While the magic lasts, no one will recognize you, and as soon as you're out of sight, they'll forget all but a vague impression of you, like a pleasant dream. But only until midnight, don't forget! By the last stroke of the clock, you had best be well away."

Naminé pushed a sputtering Riku towards the carriage, where Mickey was waiting with the door open; he'd lost the driver's seat to Minnie and had been demoted to footman. Once Riku was shoved into the carriage, Naminé plucked Komory out of her hood and deposited her in Riku's lap, then shut the carriage door with a firm slam. 

"It's still kind of furry in here," Riku commented, looking around at the inside of the carriage. The seats especially had a texture much more like coconut hair than velvet. 

"Tomorrow night perhaps you'd like to give it a try with your magic wand?" Naminé asked archly. Chagrinned, Riku shut his mouth. "I thought not. Now off you go! Have a good time, dance, be gay!"

"What?" Riku asked, but Naminé had already flicked the rear of the horses with her wand, sending them into a trot fast enough to press Riku back into the coconut-furred seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All artwork and section dividers drawn by theFauxSynder.
> 
> Synthesis Notes:
> 
> 1\. In nearly every older version, the ball lasts multiple nights, most often 3. 
> 
> 2\. The hazel tree is a common feature in a lot of versions too; it's usually over Cinderella's mother's grave, and in some versions is where Cinderella gets her dress and shoes instead of the fairy godmother. Sometimes the birds bring them to her, and take them away at the end of the night; other times the tree simply grants wishes. 
> 
> 3\. Cinderella has to complete impossible tasks to satisfy her stepmother, most often picking bowls of lentils or peas scattered in the fireplace ashes. The birds come to help her pick them out in time for her to still go to the ball. 
> 
> 4\. The color descriptions of Riku's 3 outfits come from the Joseph Jacobs' version.
> 
> 5\. Komory is a Honduran white bat, the tiny puffball kind that make tents out of heliconia leaves to huddle under in adorable groups. I have no idea how many of them it would take to lift a book! 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it so far! Next post coming Wednesday!


	3. Act II ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ Green as the Sea

The castle was every bit as big and grandly lit as Riku remembered, towering overhead as the carriage pulled through the gates and up the grand drive. He'd thought it had just been his childhood memory of the castle that made it seem so overwhelming, but if anything it was even more breathtaking as Riku stared at through the carriage window, the white sandstone towers and sea-blue spires, all the windows lit golden in the early summer evening. As the carriage drew closer and closer to the castle, Riku's stomach began to twist into a tight knot. By the time the carriage pulled up at the castle entrance, Riku wanted nothing more than to melt into the coconut-furred seat and never come out. 

"I can't do this," Riku muttered to himself. "This is ridiculous, I'm nobody, I don't belong here, I—ouch!" Riku glared down at Komory, who had nipped his thumb. She squeaked at him, telling him to pull himself together. The ridiculousness of being lectured by a bat snapped Riku out of his spiral just as Mickey pulled the door open. "I suppose it's too late to back out now," Riku agreed. He set Komory down on the seat and climbed out, eyeing the sweeping staircase leading up to the entryway and hoping his knees wouldn't give out halfway up. 

At the top of the stairs, two palace guards were stationed, no doubt to check invitations. Riku's nerves thrummed as he climbed the stairs, trying to look confident but unable to truly believe that Naminé's magic would make him forgettable enough for this to work. 

"He kept running his mouth for _ten minutes_ ," the tall guard with the red spiked hair was complaining to the shorter, dark-haired one. "About his true purpose and emptiness…major brainache, I'm telling yo—WHOA!" He startled when he finally noticed Riku standing right in front of him. "Where'd you come from?"

"I climbed all the stairs right in front of you," Riku pointed out. 

The guard scratched his head. "I mean, I guess you must have, but…" He turned to the other guard. "Xion, did you see him come up?"

As soon as the guard turned to look at his partner, Riku stepped quickly around him and into the doorway, tucking himself just behind the wall for a second in case they happened to turn around. 

"See who?" the second guard asked. "Are you feeling all right, Axel? Maybe you should take a break, I think the heat's getting to you."

"What? You take that back! I'm the king of summer, buddy, get it memorized…"

"I guess that answers that," Riku murmured to himself, stepping out from his hiding place and heading down the plush red carpet leading the way into the main ballroom. He could hear the party from here, hundreds of voices and laughter, all backed by the strings of the court musicians. 

The sound of the summer ball in full swing did not at all prepare Riku for the sight of it as he came out to the top of the grand staircase. The whole ballroom was a sight straight out of a fairytale: gold candelabras were lit with hundreds of candles, the crystal-strung chandeliers glittered with a hundred more. Tapestries the turquoise of the ocean were hung from the ceiling and walls, waving gently in the breeze from the highest palace windows being thrown open; everything in the room was swathed in blue or gilded in gold. The guests were a sight themselves, both men and women in colors as bright as jewels, women waving feathered fans in the heat like coy tropical birds. 

Riku was too busy trying to look at everything at once as he drifted down the stairs to worry about whether anyone noticed him entering. He felt dazed as he hit the bottom step, as if his brain couldn't take the whole thing in. The room was so warm, so many conversations overlapping, and there were so many people eddying by, brushing too close to him in the crowded space just at the bottom of the staircase. 

"Excuse me," Riku murmured, overwhelmed and trying to edge away, but there was no way out except to bump into more people. "I'm sorry, excuse me…"

The crowd thinned out near the edges, and Riku slipped free of it with a gasp of relief. He kept close to the wall as he worked his way deeper into the room, where it was a little cooler thanks to the windows. At the other end of the room sat the royal dais, but only King Yen Sid was sitting on his throne, Prince Sora and Prince Roxas's thrones empty to either side of him. The princes were probably caught in the crowd of people in the center of the room being formally presented; Riku smiled faintly as he remembered being how terrified he'd been of King Yen Sid when he and his father had been presented to him at that summer ball so long ago. 

With everyone so excited over Sora's potential engagement, Riku wondered if he'd even be able to catch a glimpse of the princes. A pang of disappointment squeezed Riku's chest; he'd thought it might be difficult to speak to Sora directly, but now it seemed like even seeing him might be a challenge. Riku pushed the uncomfortable feeling down as best he could. It was still early and there were hours before midnight. Surely the crowd would thin out at some point. 

Riku found himself near one of the long tables of food and punch, which seemed as good a way as any to occupy himself. Like everything else, it was an overwhelming sight. An endless amount of snacks and sweets covered the table, everything Riku had described to the mice and more. It looked too good not to sample some of each dish, exotic fruits and tiny pastries and candied nuts and chocolate truffles. Riku pocketed some cheese and fruit carefully in a napkin before loading up another napkin with macarons for himself. They were just as good as he remembered, perfectly crunchy before dissolving into sugar on his tongue, and the pink ones were still the best ones. 

At the end of the table, the cake loomed over everything like an enormous frosted lighthouse. Riku admired it with open awe while he ate his way through his pile of macarons. His childhood memory hadn't failed him at all; if anything the cake was bigger than he remembered, an unbelievable number of iced flowers and delicate sugar birds decorating the tiers. Riku leaned in, examining the details. 

Riku almost tasted it face first when someone bumped into him from behind. 

"Oops!" Riku heard a voice behind him call as he saved his macaron pile with a lucky grab. Firm hands grabbed his shoulders to save him from tipping forward. "Sorry!"

"It's my fault, I wasn't…" Riku's tongue froze as he turned and saw who he was talking to. Bright, sky blue eyes, a gold circlet nested in tousled brown hair, freckles dusted over an upturned nose and cheeks pink from the heat. 

"Nice to meet you," Prince Sora said, offering a sheepish smile. Riku knew he was staring but his brain seemed as frozen as his mouth. "I do hope you're enjoying yourself at the ball."

The spell of awkwardness broke as Riku laughed; he couldn't help it, hearing Sora say the same exact sentence he'd said the first time they met. 

"I see you've found the macarons, so you must have good taste," Sora went on without waiting for any input. "The pink ones—"

"Are your favorite," Riku interrupted. He held up his napkin. "You're welcome to have some of mine, Your Highness."

Sora's eyes lit up. "If you insist!" He plucked one of the pink macarons off the pile and popped it in his mouth, eyes fluttering shut in pleasure. "Mmm. So you have me at a disadvantage, since you clearly know who I am, but you seem to have slipped past the royal herald somehow."

"O-oh," Riku fumbled as Sora stared at him expectantly. It stung, Sora asking for his name, even if it was because of Naminé's memory magic. Riku bowed politely, forcing his face back into neutrality. "I'm Riku, Your Highness."

"Riku," Sora repeated. When Riku lifted his head to look, Sora looked quizzical, head tilted. "What an odd name, but it's kind of familiar? I'm sure I'd remember you if we'd met before…"

A burst of music filled the ballroom before Sora could finish his thought, making Sora's head snap up. 

"It's the Sunwheel!" Sora exclaimed, delighted. "Come on!" 

Before Riku could protest, Sora had grabbed him by the wrist. Riku had just enough time to set his napkin down on the edge of the table before Sora was dragging him along towards the guests dancing near the court musicians. To Riku's horror, Sora pulled him right into the middle of the formation.

"I don't know the Sunwheel!" Riku exclaimed over the music. Or any dance for that matter; he had very firmly _not_ been a part of Larxene and Marluxia's dancing lessons. 

"It's easy!" Sora called back. Riku had expected Sora to hand him off to one of the girls already in formation, but to his surprise, Sora set Riku firmly in place as his own partner, lifting Riku's arm so that they were palm to palm. Sora's other arm slid around Riku's waist, grip firm as he swung Riku into the dance. "I'll teach you!"

Sora pulled Riku through the steps of the Sunwheel despite Riku's confused footwork and abject panic. It was fast-paced but easy to pick up as Sora had promised. Riku received looks of surprise from both women and men during the partner exchanges, but Sora spun him away a moment later each time, and as Naminé had promised, everyone forgot him as soon as their eyes left him. He could still feel the crowd's eyes on the back of his neck, though, and he couldn't keep from worrying that Ansem would appear at any moment and drag him out by the ear. 

"Relax!" Sora teased when Riku stumbled in against him on a turn, still stiff. 

"Everyone's looking at us," Riku said, struggling not to turn his head. Sora's knowing grin made heat creep up the back of Riku's neck. 

"At you, maybe." Sora winked, ducking under Riku's arm in a spin. "Handsome, mysterious stranger whisking the crown prince away for a dance."

"What?!" Riku protested, not sure which part of that statement to argue about first. "YOU whisked ME into this!"

Sora burst out laughing, making Riku's heart skip half a dozen beats at least as Sora pulled him into the center circle. The pace of the musicians picked up into the end of the dance, sending all the dancers whirling more chaotically. Riku's head was spinning by the time the final chord played and the ballroom burst into applause. Sora was so warm against him, flushed bright pink from exertion and delight; Riku had eyes for nothing else, thoughts of Ansem and everyone else in the ballroom forgotten. 

The music started again, a more sedate waltz this time. Sora showed no sign of letting Riku go, only adjusted their hand positions and settled his hand on Riku's waist. 

"Do you know how to waltz?" he asked. Riku shook his head, feeling ridiculous. Sora's smile was encouraging, not at all making fun of him. "This one's easy too, I'll lead. You just count, look: one two three, one two three…"

Sora was right, the regular circles of the waltz were much easier to learn than the Sunwheel had been (even if the Sunwheel was more fun). Once his heart rate slowed down and Riku could collect his thoughts, he finally got a good look at Sora. 

Riku had known that the prince must have grown up, but his imagination hadn't done Sora justice at all. The traditional colors of the Destiny Islands' royal family were white and gold, and Sora looked quite dashing in his white coat and crimson sash, his high collar unbuttoned in the heat. The thing that surprised Riku most was Sora's height: he came up just past Riku's shoulder, the top of Sora's head level with Riku's chin. All the time that Riku had imagined Sora as taller, Riku had neglected to take into account his own ridiculous growth spurt. 

"See, you're a natural," Sora said, interrupting Riku's thoughts. "You try leading for a bit."

"I, uhh," Riku said, but it was too late. Sora was already swapping their hand positions, putting Riku's hand on his waist and his own hand against Riku's shoulder. "Shouldn't you be leading, Your Highness? You are the prince."

"Sure, but you're taller," Sora pointed out breezily. Riku gave it his best shot, but it was more the other couples moving out of their way than his direction that was keeping them from any collisions. Sora seemed satisfied enough, relaxed in Riku's grip. "You're doing fine. Now tell me how someone as tall and handsome as you hasn't ever been taught to waltz, hm? Because that is definitely a mystery."

[ ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1273365577252450307)

Two dances later, even Sora was ready for a break. He slipped through the crowd with ease as though he didn't see any of the people trying to catch his attention, and pulled Riku out to the balcony. The cooler breeze out in the open air felt wonderful against Riku's flushed face. Later the balcony would be packed with people watching the fireworks, but for now there were only a few other couples getting some air out where it was too dark to show off their costumes or jewelry.

"Whew!" Sora exclaimed, reaching up to loosen his collar even more. "What royal idiot decreed that summer was the best time for a formal ball?"

"I'm sure I have no idea, Your Highness," Riku murmured, straight-faced. Sora laughed, leaning his elbows on the balcony railing. 

Riku lost all sense of time as they stood there talking, barely hearing the court musicians play through song after song. Sora was full of charming, gossipy stories about all the aristocrats and visiting dignitaries with whom the castle had been packed since yesterday. 

"I didn't _mean_ to knock his toupee off," Sora insisted as Riku laughed helplessly. "Well, he wasn't fooling anyone anyway. Ugh, I'm parched. We should have stolen some punch before we came out here."

"We could go back in," Riku suggested. Sora looked over his shoulder at the crush of people visible through the open balcony doors, expression dubious. "You can't hide out here forever. Not that I'm not enjoying myself, but you must have more important guests than me who want some of your attention."

"Shouldn't I be in there picking my bride to be, you mean?" Sora asked, laughter slipping off his face so quickly that Riku was sorry for asking. "I've got two more nights. It's all His Royal Majesty's idea, so he can marry one of them if he's in such a hurry."

Riku leaned against the railing next to Sora. "You don't want to get engaged?"

"Not to some stranger," Sora said, frowning. "It's not the kind of thing that happens all at once, like you just look across the ballroom and see some girl covered in jewels and feathers and think, it's her! That's the one I want forever! That's ridiculous."

"Ridiculous," Riku echoed vaguely, resting his chin on his hand. 

"It isn't as if any of them know anything about me, either! All they know is that I'm the crown prince. Why would you want to marry someone you've never even talked to? What if I was a huge jerk? Or a creep?" Sora flopped down onto the railing like a drunk sailor, arms dangling. "Ugh, forget it. Let's talk about something else." 

Riku looked out across the stunning view from the balcony, the gardens stretched out below, and past that, the rolling waves of the ocean stretching all the way out to meet the sky, dotted with evening stars. "What's something you'd like to do, instead?"

"Me?" Sora sounded surprised to be asked; Riku could relate. "I guess…I'd like to go see other places before I'm stuck here as king for my whole life. I've never been off the Islands. Even Roxas—oh, that's my brother, Roxas."

"I know who the other prince is, yes," Riku said, amused. 

"Right, right," Sora chuckled. "He's an officer in the Royal Guard, you know, second son and all, and even he's been to other countries as part of the King's security entourage. But I'm always here. Got to keep the crown prince kept safe in case something happens to the king. I guess that sounds like a dumb complaint, huh? I know it's important, but sometimes I still feel…"

"Stuck," Riku supplied. Sora nodded, puffing his cheeks in aggravation. Riku started lifting a hand to touch him, then made a fist to stop himself. "It's not dumb. I'm sure being the crown prince is a heavy responsibility. It sounds like a lot of pressure."

"Oh, no, it's not that bad." Sora seemed to catch himself, straightening up. "I don't mind it! I—"

"There you are!" a voice behind them made both Sora and Riku turn. It was Prince Roxas, looking quite dashing himself in the formal dress blues of the Royal Guard. He had the same bright blue eyes as Sora, and his hair would have been equally unruly if he hadn't cut it shorter in a soldier's cut. "Everyone's asking for you, and father's threatening to come out here with a broom. What are you doing out here?"

"Everyone?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or just a bunch of nobles waiting to throw their marriageable daughters at me?"

"It's your own fault for cutting such a flamboyant figure on the dance floor," Roxas said, crossing his arms. "Now everybody wants a turn. It's only half an hour until the fireworks, so could you please act your station and come be a good host? It is your party."

At the mention of the fireworks, Riku stiffened. How had it gotten so late? While Sora and Roxas argued, Riku took stock of his possible escape routes. It would be easy to get lost in the crowd if he went back through the ball, but there was no way for him to cross the whole length of the balcony without Sora noticing. On the other hand, there was a staircase to his left that led down into the palace gardens. Riku wasn't sure if he'd be able to exit to the front of the castle through the gardens, or how long it would take him to find the way, but it seemed best to take his chances. 

Riku shot one last, reluctant look over his shoulder as he slipped away, memorizing Sora framed by the light from the open balcony doors, the expressiveness of his face as he argued, the wildness of his hair from dragging his hand through it. If this was the last time he ever saw Sora, he wanted to remember it clearly. Then Riku was gone, down the stairs. 

"Not to mention, you shouldn't be alone out here in the dark," Roxas snapped, exasperated. 

"I'm not alone, I was talking to…" Sora frowned, looking around. "I was…" Sora trailed off, face scrunching in confusion. He rubbed at his chest, over his heart, like it itched. 

"Mmhmm. And how much punch did you drink?" Roxas rolled his eyes. "Inside. March!" 

It took Riku long enough to find his way out of the gardens that he was starting to get concerned about his midnight deadline, but at last he managed to find his way around and hunt down his carriage from the long line of them waiting around. Riku fell into its furry interior with a sigh of relief, and with a snap of Minnie's whip, away they went. 

Not a moment too soon; they were barely through the manor's gates when the first rumble of distant fireworks marked the stroke of midnight. Riku scrambled out of the carriage just as it started shivering, Komory clutched tight in his hands. Everything turned back to normal right before his eyes: footmen to mice, horses to chipmunks, and coach to coconut. 

"That was definitely too close," Riku said, nudging the coconut with his boot. Komory chittered in irritation at being held too tight. Riku apologized, only half paying attention, busy thinking about what would have happened if they'd still been inside the coconut when it shrunk. 

In the safety of his attic room, Riku stripped off his father's coat with relief and hung it over his chair. The fireworks were still going on, just barely visible over the tops of the trees. Riku leaned on the windowsill to watch, chin propped on his hand. Mickey, Minnie, and Komory were next to his elbow, feasting on the cheeses and fruit Riku had smuggled home, not at all bothered by the food being squished in Riku's pocket during his dive from the carriage. 

The distant towers of the castle were still aglow, lit blue and red in turns by fireworks. It seemed like a dream that Riku had been inside it just earlier, his head still muddled from sugar and summer heat, and the way that Sora tilted his head back when he laughed. 

Minnie was tickling Riku's bare elbow with her whiskers, wanting to hear about the ball; Mickey and Komory were still stuffing their faces but looked up to listen as well. 

"It was…" Riku groped for words, gaze drifting back to the fireworks. "The castle was so beautiful inside, all golden and blue. And so many people, laughing and talking…and dancing! I learned the Sunwheel." Mickey laughed, spraying Minnie with crumbs, and earning a dirty look. "Shut up, I can dance. I even waltzed."

Minnie leaned forward, jet-black eyes twinkling, and squeaked an interested, "Ohhh?"

"With Prince Sora," Riku admitted. He could feel the tips of his ears turning hot as all three animals erupted in high-pitched demands for more information. "Yes, he's handsome. No, he isn't taller than me, he only comes up to my…well, he led the waltz, but…he was wearing all white, with a red sash…" Riku rolled his eyes when the squeaked questions all jumbled together into noise. "Would you calm down? Do you want to hear the story or not?" He waited for the rodents to quiet down. "He bumped into me by the cake, and then dragged me into dancing. We talked until I forgot about everything, even the time." 

He'd been so grown up, Riku thought. He'd known Sora would be different, but hadn't imagined at all Sora's cheerful confidence, or the firm muscle of his shoulders, or his blue eyes lit up with a knowing smirk. Riku wondered if Sora was still afraid of fireworks, and wished he could have stayed to find out, wished it hard enough that his whole chest ached. 

"He wasn't what I expected at all. He grew up so much. A real prince." Komory clicked, head tilted. "No, he didn't remember me. And Naminé's magic made it so he won't remember this either." Riku swallowed a sigh as the echoing bangs of the fireworks' finale lit the whole sky, and then faded away, smoke carried off by the breeze. "But at least I got to see him again. Even that was like a dream. And I forgot to thank Naminé…"

Licking the last of the fruit off her claws, Komory hefted herself up with some ungainly flapping and landed in Riku's hair, where she began busily picking apart his mussed french braid in a transparent attempt at comfort grooming. 

"Don't patronize me," Riku grumbled, slouching down lower so that his cheek was resting on his arm. He glanced over to see the mice whispering slyly. "What?"

Mickey and Minnie flicked their tails out, tail tips curling together to make a heart shape on the windowsill. 

"That's ridiculous," Riku said. He pushed himself away from the windowsill, more than ready to peel the rest of his clothes off and flop into bed. "The prince is getting engaged, remember? No more romance novels for you two."

Even though he was exhausted, Riku could only sleep fitfully, his mind still whirling from everything that had happened. He had strange, beautiful dreams all night, of the Sunwheel, of a cake as big as the hazel tree, of eating macarons with Sora inside a giant coconut. Also one where Naminé turned him into a dragon and he flew off to the castle to kidnap Princess Sora, which Riku startled awake from in abject confusion.

The next morning, Riku slept well past dawn for the first time in as long as he could remember and woke up feeling like he'd been run over by a coconut carriage. All of his muscles ached as he dragged himself out of bed, and his room was unbearable in the heat.

Fortunately, Ansem, Larxene, Marluxia, and Ienzo were all too hungover to notice that breakfast was more like lunch. Only Ansem looked well enough to eat, the others all pushing around their eggs on their plates queasily. 

"What was the ball like?" Riku asked, figuring it would be strange if he didn't ask anything. 

"Wouldn't you like to know," Larxene said, never too hungover to be cruel. "You couldn't imagine it even if we told you, Cinderiku."

"Did you see the prince?" Riku pressed, pouring more tea for Ansem. "Did you meet him?"

"Ugh, barely," Larxene complained. 

"Just after we were formally presented, a mysterious girl swept him away," Marluxia said. He sniffed. "Monopolized his attention the rest of the night. _No_ social graces whatsoever."

"O-oh?" Riku struggled to keep his voice neutral and was not that successful. Mysterious _girl?_ "Who was she?"

"Some nobody," Larxene said, pushing her uneaten plate away and flopping back in her chair dramatically, arms crossed. "Nobody I asked knew who she was at all."

"And yet, there was something familiar about her," Ansem said. Riku was grateful he was standing behind Ansem's chair so that Ansem couldn't see his face. He turned to escape to the kitchen to compose himself, but froze when Ansem ordered, "Wait."

"Yes?" Riku asked. 

"This tea is lukewarm. Make it again," Ansem ordered. Riku clenched his teeth to keep the sigh of relief from escaping, grateful to exit the room. 

The day passed slowly, hours crawling by. Riku found it impossible to keep his mind on his chores or anything else, thoughts constantly drifting back to the castle, to dancing, to Sora. Maybe it was the scant few hours of sleep he'd had or the stifling heat of the afternoon, but everything seemed soft-edged to Riku today. Even the others calling his name relentlessly couldn't snap him out of his daydreams. 

"What is wrong with you today?" Ienzo snapped. Riku looked down at the tray in his hands; he'd brought the teapot but not a teacup, and a fork instead of a spoon. It was also loosely possible he'd filled the sugar bowl with salt. "Oh, never mind! Just take it and go, I don't have time to deal with you."

Larxene and Marluxia barely seemed to notice that Riku kept bringing them wrong pieces of clothing and jewelry as he helped them try on different outfits for that night's ball; even under normal circumstances, they always complained whatever he did was wrong, so it hardly seemed different. This afternoon they were absorbed in their gossip about last night's mystery lady, spinning ever wilder theories until Riku could barely keep a straight face. 

"Well, I heard the Duke had a disgraced daughter sent to live on the mainland," Larxene was saying as Riku attempted to pin up her curls for the second time. "It could be her! I heard her dress was so gaudy, done up like a—ouch!" Larxene slapped Riku's hand away, and the curl Riku had been pinning unraveled, falling right down between her eyes. "Mind the pins, idiot!" 

"If you stopped fidgeting, they'd stop falling down," Riku said, too out of sorts to remember to modulate his tone. 

"Look at this mess!" Larxene complained, turning back to the mirror and reaching up to pat her updo here and there. It withstood the abuse surprisingly well, but then again Riku had stuck enough pins in it by now to hold a dirigible together. "Imagine me dancing with the prince and the whole thing collapses!" 

At the mental image of Sora suffering a dance with Larxene, Riku burst into laughter; he couldn't help it. Larxene's cheeks went pink, and she slapped Riku across the face so hard the crack of it echoed through the room. 

"Darling, calm yourself," Marluxia said from the doorway, leaning against it with half a dozen silk cravats in his hand, all of them various shades of pink. "He isn't worth it. Show some self-control."

Larxene's snarl deepened; being told to control herself was the surest way to set off her temper. "Get out!" she ordered, flinging her hairbrush at Riku. "I'll finish it myself!" 

Riku was more than happy to dump his handful of loose pins on Larxene's vanity and leave the room, the red handprint on his cheek a small price to pay for escape. 

He wasn't sorry to see them all leave for the evening either. But watching the carriage trundle down the manor's drive from his attic window, Riku couldn't help but be jealous that they would have two more nights of the ball. He tried to tell himself it was the excitement, food, and fireworks that he was sorry to miss, and not at all about a certain cake-obsessed prince who Riku had already said his goodbyes to. 

Komory crawled onto the back of Riku's hand where it was resting on the windowsill and nibbled his knuckle affectionately.

"I'm fine," Riku told Komory. "I had my fun last night, and that's the end of—AAAGH!" Riku yelped at a sudden _Pop!_ behind him and flash of light, as if a small firework had gone off in his room. Riku whirled around, and there was Naminé dusting her robes off, blue sparkles going in all directions. 

" _There_ you are!" Naminé said, as if Riku was ten minutes late to an appointment. "It's already twilight, what are you doing up here?"

"I…live here?" Riku answered unintelligently. 

"I have no idea how, with this heat." Naminé flicked her wand and it snapped open into a golden fan, patterned with pink lotus blossoms, fanning herself with a sigh of relief. With her free hand, she grabbed Riku's wrist. "No time for the stairs!"

"Wait!" Riku protested, but with another _Pop!_ , Riku found himself down in the garden, rubbing blue sparkles out of his eyes. His stomach rolled for a second before it righted itself; Komory was wrapped tight around Riku's wrist, all her claws sunk into Riku's skin in panic. Wincing, Riku tried gently to pry the bat off. "Listen, Naminé, thank you for everything, really, but—"

"My goodness, you do like to argue about a good thing, don't you?" Naminé snapped her fan shut, so that it was a wand again, and folded her arms. "Is the summer ball three nights or isn't it?" 

"It is," Riku answered. The word 'but' was on the tip of his tongue, but Naminé gave him a look so sharp that he sensibly shut his mouth. 

"I thought you'd see it my way," Naminé said. She circled her wand like she was warming up her wrist. "I'm thinking green this evening, to go with your eyes. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" 

A flick of Naminé's wand, and suddenly Riku's rough linen shirt was fine white cotton, softer than snow, gathered at the wrist where leather gloves covered his wrists and palms but left his fingers bare. Over the shirt, he had a velvet vest even finer than his coat the night before, green as the sea, embroidered in waves of gold. Again his hair was tied back with a matching ribbon, and again his pants left absolutely nothing to the imagination. 

"That'll catch the prince's eye," Naminé announced in satisfaction as Riku tried to tug the bottom of his vest down lower. "Now, where are those chipmunks…"

"I really don't need a whole carriage," Riku interrupted. Naminé raised an eyebrow, and Riku cleared his throat. "It wasn't exactly ideal for sneaking into the ball, or a quick getaway. Something more inconspicuous?"

"Hm, I suppose just a noble steed would do for the night." Naminé plucked Komory off Riku's wrist, the bat giving a soft _cheep_ of confusion. "Your turn tonight, little one. Bats and chipmunks are basically the same anyway."

A tap from Naminé's wand and the little white bat became a very fine white horse, her mane and tail tied with green ribbons, her bridle and trappings all the same gleaming gold as Riku's vest. She also had wings, big enough to nearly knock Riku over when she flapped them in alarm. 

"Oh my! That was unexpected," Naminé laughed. "I suppose that is the main difference between a bat and a chipmunk." She patted Komory's nose until she settled, nickering anxiously. "Oh hush, what a fuss."

"This is not less conspicuous," Riku said, arms crossed. 

"Think how fast, though!" Naminé smiled sweetly. "Haven't you ever heard the saying 'time flies?'"

Shaking his head, Riku gave up on making sense of any of this, and wedged a boot into the stirrup to heft himself up and into the saddle. Riku wound the reins twice around his hands just to be sure of his grip, not confident that he wouldn't be blown clean off by one good flap of Komory's impressive wings. Just as he was about to snap the reins, he paused, frowning down at Naminé. 

"Will Sora remember last night?" he asked. It had not felt good to introduce himself to Sora like a stranger, and he wanted to know whether he had to brace himself to do it again. 

"He will, when he sees you," Naminé promised. "That is, if you ever make it there. Go on!"

"Right." Riku looked down at his noble steed and her wings dubiously. "Let's keep it on the ground, please?" Komory snorted what she thought about that, and took off suddenly enough that Riku yelped in surprise. 

"Midnight, don't forget!" Naminé called from behind. 

Komory was a much smoother ride than the coconut carriage, that was for sure, and in no time at all, they arrived at the castle. Rather than having to slip through the guards at the front of the castle like last night, Riku opted for climbing over the back garden wall. The walls were high enough to keep a normal thief out certainly, but no match for a flying horse. Riku tossed a few pears from the nearest tree down to Komory, hoping to keep her from wandering off, and then dropped down from the top of the wall and into the gardens, silent as a shadow. 

The gardens were vaguely familiar from playing here with Sora as children, the lanterns and fairy lights providing more than enough illumination for Riku to find his way. More importantly, he remembered the servants' entrance to the garden, and aside from having to shoo off a persistently amorous peacock, Riku slipped inside the castle without a hitch. The hallway and the small door to the ballroom were exactly as Riku remembered it, the heavy curtain on the other side covering Riku's entrance to the ballroom behind the curve of a staircase. 

Naminé could have saved her magic; the second night of the ball was even louder and more bustling than the first night had been, and no one noticed Riku stepping out from nowhere like a magic trick. Peering over the staircase's railing to get his bearings, Riku saw that the royal dais was again unoccupied, King Yen Sid and both princes likely mingling somewhere in the crowd. 

Riku took a winding path between couples and clusters of courtiers, his stride slow enough to look casual but quick enough to discourage conversation or dance invitations. He'd crossed the room with no sign of Sora, before a gasp of the prince's name drew his attention to a pair of young ladies standing nearby. When he followed the ladies' line of sight up, there was Sora on the second level, leaning on the railing and talking with a girl whose dress quite honestly put the peacock outside to shame. 

"Is that her?" the lady next to Riku asked her companion. She had to all but shout to be heard over the music, making it easy for Riku to eavesdrop. "The girl from last night? It must be her, look at the prince's smile!" 

Riku pressed his lips together to keep from laughing; Sora's smile was definitely one of strained politeness, eyes focused on the party below much more than the girl beside him. When she tapped Sora's shoulder to get his attention, he startled at how close she was to him. 

"Ah, it must be her, she's giving him something." The second lady sighed enviously. "Some girls have all the luck…"

Riku didn't hear the rest, already striding across the room, his feet carrying him before he'd thought about what he was doing. Sora was moving as well, heading for a nearby set of stairs in an obvious bid for escape, peacock girl close behind. They were going to meet at the bottom of the staircase, and Riku had only a handful of seconds to decide whether he was going to test Naminé's magic by making a scene with the prince for the second night in a row.

It wasn't a difficult decision; in for one munny, in for a million, Riku supposed. Just as Sora hit the last step, Riku caught his wrist tightly. Pitching his voice in the same overly familiar, mildly exasperated tone Roxas had used the night before, Riku said, "There you are!" 

Sora's look of alarm melted into a bright grin as soon as he looked up. "Riku!"

"At your service, Your Highness," Riku said, his heart skipping at Sora recognizing him. "My apologies, miss, but I'm afraid I must steal the prince for a few minutes." In one smooth motion, Riku used his grip on Sora's wrist to pull him away, his other hand landing on Sora's waist to guide him into a spin; they blended immediately in with the other couples dancing nearby, turning round each other like leisurely clock gears. 

"You can steal me forever, so far as I'm concerned," Sora muttered. Riku's ears went hot, but Sora didn't seem to notice, busy sneaking a look over Riku's shoulder at his abandoned conversation partner. "You should see her face!" Satisfied, Sora adjusted his grip more comfortably, apparently content to let Riku keep the lead. "I'm still annoyed with you, by the way."

"Are you?" Riku asked. Only half his attention on the conversation, the other half focused on steering them steadily across the room.

"My brother thinks I was out on the balcony talking to myself, thanks to your vanishing act," Sora informed him. "And you missed my fireworks. Unforgivable." Sora's feigned annoyance, melted into genuine curiosity. "Where did you run off to in such a hurry?"

"I'm a man of many mysteries," Riku replied, chuckling when Sora puffed his cheeks. A couple having a loud argument blocked their way; Riku steered Sora around them, then righted their course with a sudden twirl of Sora under his arm. 

"Are we going somewhere?" Sora asked, catching on. The song was ending, and they weren't as close enough to the edge of the room as Riku had hoped they would be; they would have to make a break for it. 

He flashed Sora his best charming rogue grin. "We're making our escape!" 

Without waiting for an answer, Riku took off towards his hidden exit, Sora's hand clutched tightly in his own. He could hear Sora laughing breathlessly behind him, but didn't dare look, busy weaving this way and that, slipping through the gaps between couples and knots of people. 

It shouldn't have worked, given how many women in the room had their eye on the prince plus Sora's conspicuous white coat. But with Riku's height and broader shoulders blocking Sora's view from the party guests as they squeezed past, Naminé's magic dazed anyone looking their way for just long enough. A minute later and they were around the curve of the stairs, behind the curtain, and through the servants' door. 

The instant the door was shut with them safe on the other side, Riku slumped against it with relief, the wood firm against his back. His heart was racing from both excitement and nerves. Looking down to Sora at his side, he found Sora grinning up at him, hair ruffled from the hurry and eyes sparking with delight even in the dim light of the hallway. 

"How on earth did you know about this door?" Sora demanded.

"How do you think I keep crashing your ball?" Riku asked. He was still holding Sora's hand, he realized, and quickly let it go. Before Sora could ask for any real answers, Riku strolled ahead. "I hear the castle has magnificent gardens, but I didn't see much of them during my daring escape last night. Any chance of a royal tour?"

"Hey, wait up!" Sora exclaimed, laughing as he caught up and hooked his arm through Riku's to drag him ahead. "I suppose it is my duty as a good host." They reached the door leading out to the gardens, and Sora flung it open with a dramatic sweep of his hand. "Right this way, my good…sir?"

"HUWAAAAAAGH," announced the peacock who was still lurking there. It fanned its tail, shaking its feathers alluringly. 

"Ah, my persistent suitor," Riku said dryly. Sora burst out laughing, and Riku's heart raced.

[ ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1273365577252450307)

The gardens looked just as magical as they had when Riku was a child, lit softly by colorful paper lanterns, everything smelling of jasmine and honeysuckle. The fountain was still full of spotted fish that chased after Riku's fingertips, and the weeping willow still sheltered hundreds of fireflies. Sora tugged Riku underneath the trailing branches to catch them, although there were so many that Riku only had to hold out his hand to have several fireflies land on it.

"Bet I caught more," Sora said after a few minutes, holding out his cupped hands. He opened them just enough for Riku to see, so many fireflies that his palms were lit yellow like he was holding a candle. 

"Hmm," Riku said, leaning closer as if to inspect Sora's catch, then blew gently to send most of them flying off. 

"Hey! That's cheating!" Sora laughed. Sora looked up, face too close to Riku's, and Riku's breath caught as Sora reached up with one hand, brushing at the front of Riku's hair. "One's in your hair." Sora showed Riku the firefly on his fingertip, flexing its wings. "Make a wish."

"That's for eyelashes," Riku said.

"Shut up, I'm the prince, I say what's for wishing." Sora waited, expectant, and Riku blew gently to send this firefly off on its way too. "Don't tell me what you wished for or it won't come true."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Your Highness," Riku murmured; even if he didn't tell, midnight would still come all the same. 

"Tell me why I've never seen you at the ball before," Sora ordered as they were walking the hedge maze, taking the turns at random and no doubt entirely lost. Before Riku could give a flip answer, Sora added, "And don't say you're from another kingdom. Nobody except native-born Destiny Islanders have that accent."

"You've got me there, I must admit," Riku said, mildly surprised at Sora's sharp attention to detail. He decided a little truth couldn't hurt. "I was born here, but my father made his fortune as a merchant. Summer is the best time for it, since the seas are calm."

"You've sailed on a merchant ship?" Sora asked, instantly delighted. Riku nodded. "Tell me everything! What's it like living on a ship? What ports have you been to? What's the _best_ sailor swear that you know? Are the stars really different in other places?"

"They are, if you go far enough," Riku answered, bemused by Sora's breathless questions. Sora had a thousand more of them, and Riku did his best to answer them from either his fuzzy childhood memory of traveling with his father, or from things he'd learned about the other kingdoms from studying. He hadn't meant to sound as if he was bragging, but it had Sora sighing enviously by the time they accidentally found the maze's exit. 

"I've never been anywhere at all!" Sora said indignantly. "How dare you be more dashing and worldly than me, your prince! I won't have it, I—wait!" Sora grabbed Riku's wrist to pull him back behind the hedge. Riku opened his mouth, but Sora shushed him. A second later, Riku heard it too: the palace guards calling for Sora. Sora peered cautiously around the hedge. "Damn, they've blocked off the rose garden."

"Is a peaceful surrender out of the question?" Riku asked, and got shushed again.

"This way!" Sora darted off, Riku's hand clutched tight in his own to keep from losing him. Sora wove between trees and trellised archways, pulling Riku deeper into the gardens until the guards' voices faded. "That should keep them busy for a while."

"They certainly have their hands full with you," Riku said, amused. There weren't any lights strung up in this part of the garden, but the moon had risen, casting enough light through the branches of the fruit trees for Riku to see the face Sora made at him. "Disappearing for hours with a mysterious woman."

"Don't you start too," Sora groaned. "Honestly, how do these stories even start? Do you know how many lords or ladies tried to discreetly suggest to my father today that their daughter must have been the one to so enchant me? And swearing, out of loyalty to the crown, that they won't breathe a word about the circumstances…as if my father wouldn't be delighted beyond measure if I looked serious about anyone."

"Probably not me," Riku couldn't help but comment. "I'm hardly a marriageable lady."

"I doubt he'd care even about that," Sora chuckled. "But he didn't see you either. My father only started the Sunwheel because he was trying to keep me away from the cake."

Riku bit his lip, thinking about five-year-old Sora and the cake. "How many cake incidents have there been?"

"A few," Sora said archly. "Isn't it funny that when my father wants me to stand around like a prop to greet the court it's _my_ ball, but when I want to eat half the cake it's _his_ ball? What's being a prince good for anyway?"

"I guess there's one good thing about you getting married," Riku said. Sora tilted his head, puzzled. "A giant cake." Sora spluttered laughter, kindling warmth in Riku's chest. "You should tell the king you'll only get married if you can have a whole cake to yourself."

"That's ingenious! I knew there was a reason I liked you." Sora beamed up at Riku, nose scrunched from laughing, moonlight catching in his eyelashes; Riku had to look away, clearing his throat. "I guess all that's left is to pick the other person going on top of that cake."

"You seem to have plenty of offers to choose from," Riku pointed out, shoving down the way even saying that made him want to frown. "What about the girl from the balcony? She seemed like she kept your attention longer than a moment."

"Oh, her," Sora said, making a face. "Selphie. She was definitely interested." He reached into the pocket of his jacket, and to Riku's surprise pulled out a yellow, star-shaped fruit, bright green leaves on two of the points turned silver in the moonlight. 

"A paopu fruit?" Riku asked. "They aren't even in season. Where'd she find one of those?"

"Showing off her family's money and connections." Sora's voice said he wasn't impressed. He handed the fruit over to Riku to inspect. "You know the legend, right?"

The paopu's skin was smooth under Riku's hand, the ripe fruit compact in his palm. "If two people share one, their hearts will always be connected."

"She was going for the romantic angle, I suppose," Sora said, shaking his head. "Shows she didn't bother learning anything about me. I hate sour things."

"Aha, so you don't know the whole legend, then," Riku said. Sora narrowed his eyes, and Riku smirked, pleased he could show off. He took the paopu between both hands and broke it in half with a satisfying _snap_. He offered the side with three points to Sora, make sure each of them got a side with one leaf. "It's only sour if it's the wrong person. When you find the right person to share one with, it's sweet."

"Really?" Sora asked as the took the fruit from Riku. He eyed the wet edge of the fruit dubiously. "Where did you hear that part?"

"My father used to tell it that way," Riku explained. "But admittedly, as a merchant, he had a vested interest in selling as much exotic fruit as possible." Sora was staring up at him, a small crease between his eyebrows. Riku nudged Sora's shoulder with his own. "Well? Aren't you going to try it?"

"I—" Sora's words were drowned out by the first _bong_ of the clocktower. Panic washed over Riku as he realized he'd forgotten the time again. Seeing Riku's expression, Sora asked, "What's wrong?"

"I have to go," Riku said hurriedly, looking around and trying to think sensibly. How far back into the gardens had they come? How close to the back wall? He flashed Sora a smile that he felt absolutely none of and turned to go.

"Wait!" Sora caught Riku by the wrist before he'd gone more than two steps. "It's only midnight!"

"I have to." Riku tried to shake Sora off gently, but Sora's grip was tight enough for Riku to feel it through the leather of his glove. "I'm sorry, believe me—"

"You ran away last night, too. Why?" Sora demanded. Riku shook his head, pulling his hand, but Sora yanked back. "Please don't go!"

He could stay, Riku thought, could let the magic wear off and let Sora see him as he really was. For one breath, Riku wanted to do exactly that, no matter what the consequences. Then the first firework burst overhead, lighting up Sora's gold circlet, and Riku snapped back to reality. If Sora saw his patched boots and soot-stained clothes, he'd laugh for sure. How could anyone not laugh at a servant playing nobleman for a night? It was ridiculous, and Riku couldn't bear the thought of being so embarrassed in front of the prince. 

"Goodbye, Sora," Riku said softly. His smile this time was small and sad, but real. "I really did have a good time at the ball."

"Riku…" Sora said. Riku took advantage of Sora's confusion to slip his grip by yanking his hand out of his glove. He turned on his heel and shut his ears against Sora calling his name. 

Riku ran as fast as his boots would take him, weaving between the trees to put as much distance between himself and Sora as he could. With the noise of the fireworks, Riku couldn't be sure how long he had until the clocktower's last chime at midnight; if he couldn't escape the garden before Naminé's magic wore off, at least he had to be out of Sora's sight. 

Luck was still on Riku's side. Sora had taken him far enough that it was only a dozen strides before Riku saw the back wall and the towering old pear tree that he'd used to climb into the gardens. Riku was at the tree in a flash, and then up into the branches, heedless of how they caught at his hair or scratched his hands. Grabbing the top of the wall and heaving himself over, Riku dropped to the other side not a moment too soon, his fine clothes all turned back to normal before his rear hit the ground. 

Sora arrived a second too late to see Riku going over the wall, the light of the fireworks making it clear that he had already vanished. His memory was already fading, Naminé's magic wiping away Riku's name and face even as Sora's heart struggled to hold onto them. A few seconds later and it was all like waking up from a sweet dream, fuzzy and pleasant, but all the details gone. 

"Damn!" Sora swore, clenching his fists in frustration. Both hands clenched around something; when Sora looked down he was perplexed to find himself holding a fingerless leather glove in one hand, and a chunk of paopu fruit in the other. He'd squeezed the fruit hard enough that some of the juice was running down the back of his hand. Without thinking, Sora brought his hand up to lick the drip off. "Huh? It's sweet."

On the other side of the wall, Riku slumped with his back against the bricks and tilted his head up to watch the fireworks. Komory was back to normal as well, hiding in the crook of Riku's elbow and squeaking anxiously at the bang of each explosion.

"They really are beautiful close up," Riku murmured. He had forgotten just how many colors fireworks could come in, the golds and reds and blues lighting up his face and catching in his hair. He felt so heavy, his throat tight and the pressure in his chest too much, and so he sat there in the grass, against the wall, and watched until the very last firework had bloomed and faded away, even the smoke carried off on the summer breeze. 

Riku climbed to his feet with a sigh. "We'd better go. We've got a long walk home ahead of us."

The bruised paopu half was still in his hand, the palm of his remaining glove sticky from it. Riku ate it slowly on the walk home, not at all surprised by the sweetness of it. 

By the time Riku walked back to the manor, he had neither energy nor the patience to climb all the stairs to his room. Exhausted, he dropped into his usual place near the kitchen fireplace, the fire long since gone out. It was cool against the flagstones, and the house was peaceful and dark, lulling Riku into a fitful sleep. He barely stirred when the others returned home, making a racket at the door and going up the stairs, but none of them thought to call Riku, and Riku dropped back off again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All artwork and section dividers drawn by theFauxSynder.
> 
> Synthesis Notes:
> 
> 1\. The basic look of the ball has a lot to do with the gold/turquoise scheme of the ballroom and the staircase in the live action Disney Cinderella, while the outside description of the castle is like a white/blue version of the white/purple of Daybreak Town. 
> 
> 2\. The Sunwheel is the dance from Tangled that Rapunzel does at the town festival; I thought Sora would be all about some fast-paced traditional dancing. 
> 
> 3\. In the Grimm version, on the first night Cinderella escapes through a chicken coop, and on the second night by climbing a pear tree to go over the wall, so I kept the pear tree. 
> 
> 4\. If you've never owned a rodent like a rat or a chinchilla, they absolutely do the comfort grooming to an obviously distressed owner. Bats probably do too? Sure. 
> 
> 5\. Oops I made Komory a Pegaslick. I'm not sorry. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion next Wednesday!


	4. Act III ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ Golden as the Earth

Sunlight streaming through the kitchen windows woke Riku the next morning. He was stiff from sleeping on the stone and felt like his head was full of wool, even after he'd fetched a pail of water to splash his face. 

The glove was still there. Riku examined it in puzzlement, wondering why it hadn't vanished like the rest of his clothing. Perhaps Naminé would know when she returned that night; Riku would ask before he told the fairy that he had no intention of testing his luck a third time, or of having to say goodbye to Sora again. Tucking the glove safely out of sight in his pocket, Riku turned his attention to his chores. 

He was just getting breakfast started when Ansem threw the kitchen door open with a slam, making Riku jump. 

"There you are!" Ansem said briskly, as if Riku weren't in the kitchen every morning. "Where are the others?" 

"Still in bed, I'm sure," Riku answered, wondering what on earth could have flustered Ansem this early in the morning. 

"Don't just stand there, the tea!" Ansem ordered. He turned so fast his robes whirled, leaving Riku staring after him in bafflement. He could hear Ansem hollering up the stairs, "Larxene! Marluxia! Get up at once! Ienzo! There's not a moment to lose!"

Ten minutes later they were assembled in the library, Riku pouring tea while Ansem paced restlessly. The apprentices were all still in their nightclothes, and looked quite a sight after their late night; Larxene was slumped blearily on the table, Marluxia still had his curlers in, and Ienzo's face was as sour as if he'd eaten an entire paopu.

"Look alive," Ansem scolded them. "We need a plan, quickly!"

"For what?" Larxene asked, muffling a yawn. "What's the matter?"

"The whole kingdom's been talking, while you lie in your beds," Ansem said, exasperated. "He could be here any minute!"

"Who?" Marluxia asked. All three were staring at Ansem in bleary confusion. 

"Prince Roxas, and the royal guard! They've been searching since dawn!"

"Searching?" Ienzo asked. 

"Since dawn?" Larxene echoed with distaste. 

"Stop repeating me!" Ansem barked. "For the girl! The one who lost her glove at the ball last night! They say he won't stop until he's found the girl, that he's madly in love with her!"

"Prince Roxas is?" Marluxia asked. 

"No, you idiot!" Ansem slammed his hands down on the table, making the teacups rattle. "The crown prince, Prince Sora!" 

"The prince?" Riku murmured to himself. He realized his hands were shaking, and tried to set the teapot down, but fumbled it against the edge of the tray, overturning it. 

"Oh, you clumsy fool!" Ansem snapped as tea spread across the table. "Clean that up, and then help the others dress!"

"What for?" Larxene demanded, crossing her arms. "If the prince is in love with that girl, why should we even bother?"

"Listen to me, there's still a chance!" Ansem exclaimed. The apprentices exchanged dubious looks. "No one, not even the prince, knows who that girl is."

"That doesn't even make sense," Ienzo protested. "How can he be in love with someone and not recognize them?"

"Yes, it is strange, isn't it? Think on it yourselves: we all saw the prince dancing with her the first night, but can you remember what she looked like? Her name? Anything about her?" The apprentices furrowed their brows, thinking, but all shook their heads. Ansem tapped his chin thoughtfully. "The prince's description is bizarrely vague: eyes like the sea and hair like starlight."

Riku, still mopping up the puddle of tea with a rag, froze. His reflection stared back from the liquid, eyes and hair still bright even reflected in the tea against the dark wood of the table. 

"What does that mean?" Larxene asked, nose wrinkled. "That could be anyone, even me."

"Perhaps if it were very dark," Marluxia commented, eyeing Larxene. "Or if the prince were drunk."

"I doubt anyone could be that drunk," Ienzo said. Larxene punched him in the arm. "Ow!" 

"Focus!" Ansem ordered. "Whatever the cause, the glove is their only clue. The royal guard has been ordered to find the owner, even if they have to search every home in the kingdom. If the owner can be found, then by the King's own command, that person shall be engaged to the prince!"

Riku's whole chest went tight. Braced with both hands on the table, he felt like he couldn't breathe, his own heartbeat filling his ears. 

"Engaged to the prince!" Larxene stood up, yanking one of Marluxia's curlers out on the way by. "Out of my way, rosebud. And what are you just standing there for?" She shoved at Riku's shoulder on the way by. "Bring up my laundry! And the mending better be done, too!" 

"My boots are in the hall to be polished," Marluxia added, following Larxene. 

"Well, I want no part in this insanity," Ienzo huffed, although he withered under a sharp look from Ansem. 

"CINDERRIKU!" Larxene and Marluxia both hollered from the hall. Riku drifted after them, in a fog. 

Nothing could snap Riku out of his daze the rest of the morning, neither the endless commands nor the shrill pitch of Larxene's voice. He kept rolling everything over in his mind, the glove, the royal guard's search, the king's command, Sora. If he closed his eyes, he still saw Sora's face, eyes crinkled from laughing. No matter how much anyone shouted at him, Riku only heard Sora's voice, pleading with him not to go. 

"Wake up!" Larxene aimed a kick at Riku's thigh. Riku realized that he was still kneeling in front of a pile of clean laundry, only half-sorted. "Oh, what is the matter with you!" 

"Yes, Larxene," Riku murmured, standing up and taking the laundry basket with him. 

"Hey! I didn't—get back here!" Larxene demanded. Riku barely heard her, drifting out of the room and out into the hall, steps a distracted one-two-three, one-two-three to a waltz that only he could hear. 

Preoccupied, he also failed to notice the calculating stare of Ansem as he passed by.

After tea, which no one in the household had any patience or appetite for, Riku abandoned the dishes unattended in the sink and went up to his room, trying to collect himself. Prince Roxas and the royal guard had not been to the manor yet, but that wasn't surprising given its distance from the castle. Surely it was only a matter of time. 

"I have to tell the guard that it was me," Riku said. He was sprawled across his bed limply; Mickey and Minnie were perched on his stomach, watching him sympathetically. Riku was holding the glove, restlessly running his thumb over the leather. "Sora can't keep on searching for a girl who doesn't exist when he has to choose someone by midnight. Even if I could get past Master Ansem to speak to the guard so that I can tell one of them the truth, all of it will sound ridiculous. Fairy godmothers, magic, lost memories…who could believe such a crazy story?"

Hanging from the rafter above Riku's bed, Komory chirred dubiously. 

"Exactly," Riku sighed. "Something tells me Prince Roxas doesn't believe in fairy tales."

The mice didn't have any advice, but Minnie patted Riku's wrist and Mickey nibbled his knuckles affectionately. Riku lapsed into a moody silence, turning the problem over and over in his mind, hoping for a new solution. The air was humid and still, even the cicadas outside ceasing their summer racket for once. 

It was only because it was so silent that Riku heard the small _click_ : the noise of his door being locked from outside. 

Riku was up like a shot, sending both mice tumbling onto the bed, reaching for the door. It was too late—the knob wouldn't turn in his hand.

"No," Riku said in growing horror. "No, you can't! Let me out!" There was no answer from the other side, only the sound of boots on the stairs. Riku twisted the knob sharply with both hands, then rammed his shoulder into the door, but the solid wood didn't budge. With a shout of frustration, Riku slammed his hand against the door hard enough to leave his palm stinging. 

Breathing heavily, Riku forced himself to stop, to calm down and think. His head felt empty, fingers tingling with panic so that he had to curl them into fists. 

Komory called a sharp note, then launched herself to the windowsill. For a few seconds, Riku didn't understand, but then he heard another unwelcome noise: hooves on the hard-packed dirt of the manor's drive, barely audible but growing louder by degrees. Riku went to the window to see for himself. The attic window was on the side of the house, but a long stretch of the drive was visible. A four-horse carriage was thundering down the drive, the golden royal insignia obvious on its white paneling even from such a distance. Another few moments and the carriage was out of sight, the corner of the house blocking Riku's view. Komory dove out the window, flapping out of sight as well. 

"Hello!" Riku yelled as soon as the noise of the carriage stopped. He knew it was useless, that he was too far up, too far around the house for his words to carry as anything but noise, but it didn't stop him leaning out the window and yelling as loud as he could. "I'm up here! I'm locked in the attic! Prince Roxas! Anyone!"

It was no use, of course. When long enough had passed that the guard must be inside the house, Riku slumped against the windowsill, out of breath. Komory reappeared after that, looking flustered, and when she landed heavily in Riku's hand, her heart was racing even for a rodent. 

"No luck, huh?" Riku asked; Komory cheeped sadly. "That's all right, you did your best."

Mickey and Minnie were gone, down through the walls to eavesdrop, no doubt. Riku racked his brain, but there was nothing to do but wait for either the mice to return or for Ansem to unlock the door. Riku had no idea how much time had passed by the time he heard the royal carriage start to move again. He went back to the window and watched the carriage drive out of sight, but there was no way to tell who was inside it or what had happened. 

The silence after the noise had died away felt heavy and ominous, Riku's sense of unease growing the longer it went on without something happening. Ansem couldn't possibly have tricked the guard, could he? Riku didn't think logically that anything he said about Larxene would have been convincing, but growing up under Ansem, Riku had learned not to put anything past that man. 

The mice returned, dashing out from the hole in the corner, and squeaking like their tails were on fire. 

"What happened?" Riku demanded as the mice scaled the bed and hopped into his lap, racing in panicked circles too fast for Riku to catch them. "What? I can't understand anything you're saying! Did Ansem—"

Riku had his answer a moment later as the landing outside his door creaked, then the noise of metal on metal as the key was jammed into the lock. The mice dove for cover; Riku snatched the glove off the bed and stood up, hiding it behind his back just as the door swung open. Ansem loomed in the doorway like an ominous phantom. His expression was controlled, calculating, but his eyes were full of cold fury as they pinned Riku in place. 

Riku tasted panic, metallic in the back of his throat; Ansem always looked the calmest when he was at his most furious, and the steel grey of his gaze made the hair on the back of Riku's neck rise. 

"You're still here," Riku blurted. There was some relief in that at least; no matter how Ansem took his fury out on Riku, at least Sora wouldn't have anything to do with it.

"Perceptive as ever, Riku, my boy," Ansem said, the calmness of his words more frightening than if he were yelling. "My fool apprentices were as always not up to the task, so I shall have to take matters into my own hands."

Ansem's hand shot out, like a snake striking, seizing Riku's wrist before he could react; he wrenched Riku's hand up to reveal the glove. 

"So it was you," Ansem said, plucking the glove from Riku's hand and examining it. "Imagine all this fuss over such a grubby, ordinary apprentice. When I said you'd make yourself a scandal at court, I hadn't meant for you to take it as a personal challenge."

"Give it back," Riku demanded, struggling against Ansem's grip. 

Ansem squeezed Riku's wrist tighter until it hurt, fingers like iron. "Whatever black magic you've been using to bewitch the prince, it can't help you now."

"The glove won't do you any good," Riku said through gritted teeth. "Even if you take it to the castle, Sora won't believe that it was you."

That earned a flicker of interest from Ansem. "Sora, is it? My, how informal. What have you been up to with the prince these last two nights?" Ansem's insinuation made Riku's cheeks burn. He wrenched his arm out of Ansem's grip, rubbing his bruised wrist. "You underestimate me as usual, boy."

Riku flinched back out of habit as Ansem reached into his pocket, but what he pulled out was only a necklace. A silver pendant dangled on the end of the chain, shaped like the hollow outline of a heart. Ansem lifted the chain over his head; as soon as the necklace touched his chest, thorned vines of glowing green encircled him, growing from head to foot. Unlike Naminé's gentle magic, this felt wrong and sharp, and Riku had to throw a hand up to shield his eyes from the glare of it. 

When the light faded, to Riku's horror he found himself staring at an Ansem twenty years younger, close enough to Riku's age that they could be schoolmates. Silver hair hung to his shoulders, and his eyes were the grey of the sea after a storm. 

"Have you ever thought it funny that we look so alike?" Ansem asked conversationally, as though he were commenting on the weather. "The strength of Destiny Island genetics. When I was your age I would have given anything to exchange them for a more aristocratic bearing, but it seems my provincial origins will prove useful after all."

"How did you do that?" Riku demanded, struggling to make sense of what he was seeing. 

"Alchemy, of course. As you can see, the results are much superior to the country magics you peasants indulge in." Tucking the necklace inside his collar, Ansem asked, "What did you think I was keeping young Ienzo around for, I wonder? Not his French, certainly." Before Riku could answer that, Ansem gripped his chin roughly. "One more thing."

An unpleasant current of energy ran from Ansem's fingers through Riku's body. Between one blink and the next, Ansem's eyes changed from grey to the green of sea glass. 

"I doubt even your prince will know the difference now," Ansem said, releasing his grip. "But I'm certain I can trick a foolish teenager for at least a few hours, and after midnight it won't matter, thanks to the King's own decree."

"No," Riku whispered, horrified. "You can't!"

"Oh, but I can! It's a shame you won't be there to see it, that truly would make the moment complete. It's poor sportsmanship to gloat, I suppose, but you make it so easy." Ansem smiled, cruel and smug. "I think I shall miss that the most when I am king."

Riku launched himself at Ansem with a roar in a single-minded effort to either snatch back the glove or break the necklace. Ansem shouldered Riku aside, calmly using his weight against him. The scuffle lasted only a second before Ansem hooked Riku's ankle and sent him sprawling to the floor, Riku cursing as he landed on his already bruised wrist. 

"Stop!" Riku shouted. He tried to shove himself up and yelped as pain lanced up his arm from his wrist. It was too late; Ansem was already gone, the door slammed shut and locked tight. "Ansem!"

As before, throwing himself against the door proved useless, but Riku was too angry to stop, ramming into it until his shoulder throbbed worse than his wrist. Finally a sharp pain on his scalp snapped him out of it; unable to get Riku to stop by yanking his hair, Komory had dug her claws into his skin instead. Forcing himself still, Riku sucked in one shuddering breath after another until his head started to clear. 

The mice were on the windowsill, pressed together anxiously; Riku knew without asking that if Ansem wasn't gone already, he would be soon enough. Helplessness washed the rest of his rage away as if a bucket of water had been dumped over his head. Riku slumped against the door, sliding down to the ground and dropping his head into his hands. 

"I don't know what to do," he said. "I can't do anything from in here!" Minnie picked up the end of her tail and flicked it like a wand, but Riku shook his head. "By the time Naminé comes, it might already be too late. We've got to get the door unlocked." 

Mickey scrambled down from the windowsill and onto Riku's father's coat, which was still draped over his chair. Mickey dropped into the coat's pocket and then popped out again, expectant. 

"You'll never get the key from Ansem before he leaves, and he certainly isn't fool enough not to take it with him," Riku pointed out. He let his head drop back against the door with a _thunk_. "He keeps all the keys for the house with him all the…wait." Riku sat up straight. "Father's old master key. It opened every door in the manor until Ansem had the locks redone, but they never bothered to redo mine all the way up here. The old master should still work! Ansem hasn't carried it for years, it's probably in his desk! It's an old iron key, with the house crest on the end."

Mickey and Minnie were gone through their mouse hole in a flash. 

"Go help them," Riku told Komory, prying her gently off his bandana. "They'll never get the key up all the stairs on their own, and the study windows should still be open from the heat." Chirping encouragingly, Komory went out the window. 

Waiting for the three of them to return with the key was agony. Riku forced himself to stop thinking about the dozens of obstacles in the house that would prove impossible to a mouse or bat, and focused instead on the problem of getting into the castle even if they did free him. Without Naminé's memory magic, the loss of the glove was damning. 

But Riku had one more secret that he thought could help. 

Dragging his desk chair to the center of the room, Riku climbed up on it and reached up to the rafter that ran the length of the room, high overhead. He felt along the top of the rough wood until his fingers brushed a cloth-wrapped bundle. He'd hidden it there when he first moved into the attic room; he'd been shorter then and had to stack boxes on the chair to reach the rafter, falling off his wobbling perch more than once before he was satisfied it was hidden well enough. Of all the things he owned, Riku had worried most about Ansem finding this one, so much so that he hadn't taken it down even once in all these years. 

Riku unwrapped the dusty bundle, relieved to see the silver crown nestled in the cloth, a little tarnished, but still safe in his hands. He put the chain over his head and dropped the pendant into his shirt, the metal cool against his heart. If the mark of the prince couldn't get him past the guards, then Riku didn't see what good anything else would do. 

After that Riku could only sit against the door and wait, watching the sky out the window turning redder and redder as the sun set. It seemed an absolute age before Riku finally heard some faint noise, and several more tense minutes before Riku recognized the scrabbling of claws on wood and the thunk of something small being dropped a short distance. Riku pressed his ear against the door, counting stairs in his head. 

"Hurry!" Riku called desperately. Finally, _finally_ , an iron key was shoved under the gap under the door. Snatching it up, Riku fumbled the key against the lock with shaking hands before getting it into the keyhole. 

It turned on the first try, to Riku's incredible relief. He staggered to his feet and pushed the door open. Out on the landing, Mickey, Minnie, and Komory were all in a bedraggled heap, Komory flat on her back and grumbling her complaints. Riku scooped them up on his way past, not a moment to lose. 

He ran down the stairs more quickly than was sensible, nearly missing a step more than once. Riku hit the second-floor landing ready to run for the main staircase, but Mickey screeched for attention, yanking Riku's sleeve. Riku spared him a rushed glance; both mice were pointing back towards Ansem's rooms. 

"There's no time!" Riku snapped. "Ansem might already be—OUCH!" Riku bellowed as Mickey nipped the base of his thumb hard enough to bruise. "All right, fine, but quickly!" 

The door to Ansem's rooms was ajar, a testament to how hastily Ansem had left. Even knowing his master was gone, Riku felt unease crawling up his spine at trespassing here as he crossed the room to the desk. There was still enough of the fading light coming through the window to see half the drawers pulled out and set in disarray by the mice. Riku set his hand on the desktop for the mice to hop off. 

"You found something in here?" Riku asked. "Show me."

Mickey and Minnie scaled down the front of the desk on their nimble little feet, dropping into the bottom drawer, which was only pulled out an inch or so. Riku bent down to pull the drawer open the rest of the way, frowning when it looked empty except for neatly stacked bottles of ink and quills. Even stranger, he could still hear the mice rustling papers. 

"Mickey?" Riku called; Mickey's answering chirp seemed to come from behind the back of the drawer. It was only because the other drawers were hanging open for comparison that Riku noticed that this drawer wasn't as deep as the others, pulling out only two-thirds as far as the one above. 

_It must have a false back!_ Riku realized. Reaching inside, he felt along the top edge of the wood at the back of the drawer, and sure enough, there was a little catch. He pressed it up firmly, and this time when he gave it a good yank, the drawer slid out another six inches, revealing the mice as well as a stack of folded letters. 

"You clever things," Riku muttered, pulling the letters out of the recess to have a better look. There were two dozen at least, all on heavy, cream-colored paper. The one on top was stamped with the royal seal, the red wax broken through the middle; Riku's breath caught when he turned it over and found his own name in fine calligraphy. He looked at the next letter, and the next one. 

All of the letters were addressed to him. 

Heart racing, Riku opened the letter from the top of the pile with shaking fingers. The date at the top was from the beginning of summer, and the handwriting was neat print as opposed to the fussy calligraphy on the outside.

_Dear Riku,_

_I hope this letter finds you well at school. I wonder what you're studying these days? I bet it's more exciting than life here on Destiny Islands, which is the same as ever. Last month the Head Laundress switched to a new washing powder and it was the talk of the castle for a week solid. Oh, and chartreuse is all the rage at the moment - that's a kind of terrible green in case you don't know. Just so that you won't be out of fashion if you finally come home to visit._

_Roxas says it's silly of me to keep writing you even though you never write back, and maybe it is. Maybe you're too busy, or all your stories are boring too, or maybe all my letters get lost at sea! Next time I'll try a message in a bottle - at least that would be waterproof. It isn't like I've ever been able to come visit you at school, so I suppose we're even._

_But I'm writing you anyway, even though we haven't seen each other or spoken in ten years, to ask you this favor: please come for the summer ball this year? Ever since I turned seventeen in the spring, Father's seen everything I do as a test to prove that I'm taking my duty as Crown Prince seriously. It feels like he's planning the rest of my life out instead of just a ball. I've never dreaded the end of summer before, and I don't care for it much, let me tell you. It would be nice to see a friendly face, or to talk to anyone who isn't either my brother or a guard in my father's employment._

_If it's too much to ask, I understand. Master Ansem said that you find returning to your father's house painful, but we would gladly have you at the castle for as long as you liked. I can only hope the promise of an enormous cake, fireworks, and the pleasure of my company will persuade you that the long trip would be worthwhile._

_Yours hopefully,_

_Sora_

"He didn't forget me," Riku murmured, chest knotted up with too many emotions at once. He could barely take the whole thing in, eyes darting across the page to reread fragments like 'all my letters' and 'Master Ansem said.' He felt like reality had unraveled and reknit itself around him in the scant minute it had taken him to read Sora's letter, everything recast in a new light. It had been Ansem that had kept everyone away, Riku realized with growing fury, who had made sure he felt alone and powerless, made his home a terrible prison so that Riku would gladly abandon it to Ansem's hands the instant he came of age. 

There was no time to dwell on it, or to read the rest of the letters, even though Riku wanted desperately to do that. Tucking the letters into his shirt, Riku scooped the mice out of the drawer and rushed from the room. A glance at the windows showed that it was full dusk outside, and every second that passed as Riku ran down the stairs and through the kitchen made him more afraid it was already too late. 

Just as Riku burst through the kitchen door, into the garden, a welcome voice exclaimed, "There you are, at last!"

"Naminé!" Riku gasped, out of breath and overwhelmed. "Ansem—I found—he took—"

"There's no time for all that," Naminé cut him off, wand already out. "Hurry, or all will be lost!" She plucked Komory from Riku's shoulder as if picking an apple off a tree and tossed her like a ball at the same time as she brandished her wand. 

In a swirl of blue, Komory turned back into the winged horse before her hooves touched the grass. Komory turned her head to glare at Naminé, snorting her displeasure and stomping her hoof. 

"Quickly, quickly!" Naminé insisted, pushing Riku across the grass. 

"Ansem has the glove," Riku protested. "He's transformed himself to look like me, and Sora can barely remember anything because of the memory spell, and that won't break until midnight! Even if I get to him, how will Sora know it's me?"

"You've got everything you need already," Naminé assured, tapping Riku on the chest. 

Riku frowned. "In my…heart?"

" _No_ , you silly boy," Naminé said, exasperated. "The prince's mark! The prince's memories are not lost, they merely sleep within his heart. You made an oath that only the two of you know about; show him the necklace and he will remember that, even though your faces are different." Naminé shoved Riku harder, into Komory's side. "Now _go_. You must fly!" 

It wasn't a metaphor; as soon as Riku hefted himself up and swung a leg over Komory's back, Naminé slapped the horse firmly on the rear. Riku barely had time to twist hands in her mane and hang on for dear life as Komory reared up and kicked off, Riku's surprised yell echoing behind him. Mickey and Minnie dove into Riku's shirt, digging their little claws into Riku's skin in panic. Riku dared one glance down as Komory skimmed over the treetops, and immediately wished he hadn't; for the rest of the ride he kept his eyes forward, glued to the castle.

[ ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1275920590260535296)

Not having to follow the winding roads cut the trip across the island in half, but even so, Riku feared that nothing could be fast enough. Komory touched down just out of sight of the guards at Destiny Castle's main entrance, and Riku tumbled off, nearly spilling to the ground on his shaky legs.

"Stay here," Riku told Mickey and Minnie, fishing them out of his shirt and dropping them on Komory's back. All of them looked a fright, the mice with their fur poofed out in alarm, Komory and Riku's hair wild from the wind. "If I'm not back before midnight, fly home or you'll be stuck out here." 

Whickering anxiously, Komory bumped her nose against Riku's shoulder. 

"I'll be fine," Riku promised, pushing her back, towards some of the more ostentatious topiary. "Stay out of sight. Wish me luck!"

Riku dashed in through the gate, towards the entrance, trying to straighten his hair and clothes and wishing he'd at least demanded Naminé stop him from looking like a lost peddler. The tall, red-haired guard was still on duty at the top of the stairway, and the way he was elbowing his shorter partner in open amusement as Riku climbed the stairs said Riku's attempt at respectability was not going well. 

"I think you might be at the wrong entrance, friend," the guard said. "Servants' entrance is around back."

"I know this looks strange, but I'm not a servant, I'm a guest," Riku said, struggling to keep his tone reasonable despite his panic. "Please, you must let me in, it's—"

"If you're a guest, you must have an invitation." The guard folded his arms. "Well?"

"It was stolen," Riku said, which was in effect true enough. "But I've been here the last two nights. I even talked to you!"

"Listen, friend, I've got every noble and invitation I've seen for the last three days memorized right here," the guard retorted, tapping his black-gloved finger to his temple. "And I've never seen you or your cute little bandana before in my life, so maybe you should just RFC? That's Retire From Castle." When Riku didn't move, the guard nudged his partner. "Xion, a little help here?"

"Well…" The other guard, Xion, was frowning, examining Riku's face. "There is something familiar about him, Axel."

Axel groaned melodramatically. "Are you serious? Anyway, it doesn't matter, by order of Captain Roxas, no one can be let in without an invitation. For security purposes, you understand. So just turn around, and go right back down all these nice stairs—"

"I'm not leaving!" Riku insisted. He turned to Xion, who seemed more willing to at least hear Riku out. "Listen to me, Prince Sora is in danger! There's no time! Look!" Riku yanked the necklace out of his shirt. "I have the prince's own mark, you must let me pass!"

"You think I can't spot a fake when I see one?" Axel asked, eyebrow raised. "Wherever you bought that, you wasted your coin. Last warning: get lost."

Seeing that this was going nowhere, Riku lunged to the side, hoping to cut around the guards and through the doorway. Xion was too quick for him, capturing his arm in a surprisingly strong grip. They scuffled for a few moments, Riku trying to shove past using his weight advantage, Xion planting her feet and driving him back. 

"Hey, whoa!" Axel barked angrily when Riku's foot slipped off the top step. "You morons are at the top of about fifty marble steps! Quit that!" Axel seized Riku's other arm, and Riku yelled through gritted teeth as pain lanced down from his injured shoulder. "All right, that's the icing on the cake, now you're _really_ arrested, in the name of—"

"What on earth is going on out here?" Prince Roxas boomed from the doorway, making everyone freeze.

"—Captain Roxas," Axel finished his sentence. "Nothing to worry about, we're just in the middle of arresting this nobody for being a nuisance on the stairs as well as royal emblem counterfeiting." He pulled Riku upright by the arm for Roxas to see, making Riku wheeze in pain. 

"Your Highness, _please_ ," Riku begged. "You must listen—"

"Quiet, all of you!" Roxas ordered, steel blue eyes taking in everything at once. He stepped forward and gripped the crown pendant still hanging from Riku's neck. "Why do you have this? Who are you? And how can you be out here when I've just seen you inside not a minute ago?"

"What?" Axel demanded. "Two?!"

"Has the king announced the engagement yet?" Riku demanded. 

"He plans to on the hour," Roxas answered. Riku sagged in Axel's grip from relief. "Now answer my questions quickly, or you'll find our hospitality much diminished."

"Prince Sora gave me his mark when we were children," Riku explained. "I'm Riku."

" _You're_ Riku?" Roxas interrupted, eyes narrowed. "That's impossible, I would recognize you."

"It's been a long time, Your Highness." Riku hedged; Roxas frowned but didn't interrupt. "The man who looks like me is my master, Ansem. He didn't send me aboard to school, I've been in my father's house all these years. The glove you spent all day searching for is mine, but Ansem locked me in the attic to stop me from meeting you and took it himself. Now he's transformed himself with some kind of alchemy in order to deceive Prince Sora and the king; he means to put himself in line for the throne!"

"Now that part, I do believe," Roxas said, expression hardening. He made a sharp gesture, and Axel dropped Riku's arm. "Come with me; if any part of this is true, the King will have to hear of it." Roxas fixed Riku with a dire look. "If you make one suspicious move, I promise you'll regret it."

"Yes, Your Highness," Riku answered. "But we must hurry."

"Agreed." Roxas turned, cape fluttering with the speed of his stride. "Axel, with me," Roxas called over his shoulder. "Xion, stay at the door. Not a soul in or out until my word!" 

"You believe me?" Riku asked, lengthening his stride to keep pace with Roxas. 

"Many strange things have happened these last three nights," Roxas answered, scowling. "A mysterious girl that everyone sees and no one remembers, my brother disappearing for hours but afterwards he can't say what he's been doing, a glove whose mate is nowhere to be found and when it is brought to the castle gates, the girl is not a girl. And you! Whatever your story is, it isn't me that has to believe it, but the king himself. He has had more than enough of mysteries this ball, so heaven help you if you don't convince him." 

Roxas's words had brought them to the end of the hallway, where another royal guard with an eyepatch was watching their approach with open interest. Behind him, the doors leading in the ballroom were closed. 

"Where's the fire, Your Highness?" he asked jovially. He eyed Riku's rough clothes. "And did anyone tell this guy it's not a costume party? Kudos on the authentic dirt smudges, though. Hey, do I know you from somewhere?"

"Stand aside, Xigbar," Roxas ordered. The guard didn't budge. "That's an order."

"No can do, kiddo," Xigbar explained. "You know how the king hates being interrupted by late nobles swanning in and out during his address."

"Oh, _damn_ ," Roxas swore, shouldering Xigbar out of the way. "Axel, the door!"

"On it!" Axel announced, grabbing the handle of one of the double doors. The ornate door was so heavy that Axel had to pull with all his weight until the door gained some momentum. 

As soon as Axel managed to drag the door ajar, Riku darted forward and squeezed through the gap while Roxas's hands were still full with Xigbar. 

"Stop, you!" Roxas barked, but Riku was already through, stumbling to the railing at the top of the grand staircase. Below him, a sea of people were all turned towards the royal dais, the room still except for lazily waving fans and flickering candles. At the far end of the massive room, King Yen Sid stood, his sonorous voice carrying easily to all corners. Beside the king stood Prince Sora, resplendent in the royal white and gold, and Ansem next to him in complimentary gold and red, the colors of a future royal consort. 

For a second, Riku was frozen in place by the nightmare quality of seeing himself standing next to Sora, his hand on Sora's arm, of Ansem wearing Riku's face like a mask with the corner of his mouth curved in a smirk. 

"I have waited many years to announce this joyous occasion for my eldest son, your crown prince," the King was saying. "And at last the time has arrived. This night, on the last night of the summer ball, I announce to you the engagement—"

"STOP!" Riku exclaimed, his voice ringing out over King Yen Sid's. A gasp rippled through the crowd, and a thousand eyes turned towards Riku. The air in the room suddenly felt stifling, too thick to breathe as Riku's voice caught in his throat. Whispers turned from shock to confusion among the guests close enough to the stairs to make out Riku's features clearly. 

"What is the meaning of this?" the king demanded. His voice sent a shudder of fear through Riku, but Riku could only see Sora's face turned up towards him, his eyes wide with confusion. 

Riku clenched the railing hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "Your Majesty, that man—"

"He is an imposter!" Ansem interrupted, taking a step forward to put himself between Riku and Sora. To everyone else, it must have looked like he was shielding the prince, but Riku saw the way breaking Sora's eye contact made his expression glaze back over. "He must be seized, quickly, guards!" 

The ruckus of Roxas and Axel trying to get through the doorway behind him intensified, Roxas hollering, "It's under control—oof!" Roxas tripped as he got free of the door, Axel tipping over behind him and sending them both down on the unforgiving marble in a tangle of limbs. 

"Whoops!" Xigbar called cheerfully. "Butterfingers!" He grinned at Riku's surprised stare. "I'm winking, you probably couldn't tell."

"Get off!" Roxas snapped, shoving Axel off him, but Riku was already down the first dozen steps before Roxas got his feet under himself. Another pair of guards was running up from the bottom, swords out, pinning Riku on the middle staircase landing. Both were too big for Riku to have any chance of overcoming quickly, or at all. 

"Not another step down these stairs," one growled. 

"Ok." Riku shrugged, and then launched himself over the side railing, grabbing one of the turquoise hangings to slow his fall. It made his injured wrist and shoulder scream, but he landed safely. The moment his boots touched the ground, Riku took off running, dodging this way and that through the guests to keep the guards from following easily. 

Everything was confusion: ladies shrieking and throwing themselves back as if away from a mouse, tangling up the men who were trying to help out and grab him. Above all of it, Riku heard Ansem crying, "You must catch him!" and Roxas barking orders to the guards. 

He was within a few meters of the dais when a hand caught him by the back of the shirt, snarling, "Got you!" 

_So close_ , Riku raged internally, struggling not to give in to panic. "Your Majesty—"

"SILENCE!" King Yen Sid thundered. "Dilan, bring him here."

"It is not wise to get too close," Ansem said quickly, still keeping Sora behind him. "Some sort of sorcery is afoot—" The king held up his hand, and Ansem fell silent, jaw clenched. 

The guard dragged Riku a dozen steps more, shoving him between the shoulders so that he dropped to his knees. Roxas and Axel caught up just then, both kneeling in front of the king. 

"An explanation, Roxas," the King ordered. "Quickly."

"The blame is mine, father," Roxas said, voice curt. "I brought him in from the door but lost control of him. He knew of the glove and the engagement, and says some alchemy has been done to him. He has the crown prince's mark."

"He does?" Sora asked, stepping out from behind Ansem. Ansem flung an arm out, but Sora dodged under it, coming down off the dais. "My mark?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Riku said, pleading with his eyes as well as his voice. "You gave it to me years ago, when we were children. If you come look, I'm sure you will remember."

"Sora," King Yen Sid warned. 

"It's all right," Sora waved both of them off. He approached slowly, curiosity obviously winning out over caution. He glanced up at the guard.

"I have him, Your Highness," Dilan said, tightening his grip in Riku's shirt so that he felt the warning in it. "But be cautious."

The prince's Mark was still hanging out of Riku's shirt, the pendant resting on his chest. Sora reached for it, lifting the silver crown up to examine it. Even though he traced the shape with his thumb and turned it over, Sora's expression of confusion didn't change. 

Riku felt like his heart was breaking. 

"Is that all the proof you can offer?" Ansem demanded in the tense silence. "Your Majesty, I am sure you are not fooled by this rogue and his vague claims. If what he says is true, would not you and Prince Roxas know him? Why does he not reveal his true face instead of stealing mine?"

Sora's eyes rose from the pendant to meet Riku's. "Who are you?"

"You _know_ me," Riku pled, hands curling into fists. "We stole macarons and snuck out to the gardens. We chased peacocks and played toy swords and ate peaches. You were scared of the fireworks, and I promised—" Riku's voice cracked. "I promised to protect you. Sora, _please_ , you must remember!"

"I…" Sora's breath caught, one hand coming up to clutch at his chest as if it ached. Dilan tensed, but Sora shook his head, breathing out finally. When he met Riku's gaze this time, the blue of his eyes was clear. "Riku?"

"Yes," Riku sobbed in relief, slumping in Dilan's grip. Sora dropped to his knees, throwing arms around Riku's neck. Riku let his head fall forward against Sora's chest, the gold embroidery scratching his cheek.

[ ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1275920590260535296)

"You're here!" Sora was still talking, words tripping over themselves. "You came! I haven't seen you in…ugh, what's wrong with my head, everything's fuzzy. And why are you dressed like that? Wait!" Sora straightened up, pushing Riku back. His eyes were wide. "If you're you, then who is that?"

Seeing his hold on Sora was lost, Ansem turned to the king instead. "Your Majesty, surely you see through this trickery—"

"Aeleus!" King Yen Sid motioned the other large guard forward, face hard as stone. "Hold this man while he explains himself to my satisfaction."

Ansem's face contorted in rage, and he whirled to face Riku

"You foolish boy, you've ruined everything!" Ansem spat. "I should have sent you to the bottom of the sea just like your fool father!" He leapt from the dais, quick as an eel. 

"Catch him!" Riku cried desperately. "He can change his face!" 

"On it!" Roxas snarled, already on his feet. King Yen Sid flung a hand out, and the crowd of courtiers in front of him parted like magic, leaving Ansem nowhere to hide. Roxas had him by the wrist a moment later; Axel appeared at Ansem's other side, catching his arm as Ansem was about to reach into his coat. 

"He's wearing a necklace, shaped like a heart!" Riku called. "Prince Roxas, destroy it!"

A brief search revealed the necklace, which Roxas snapped from Ansem's neck with a yank. Dropping it on the floor, Roxas stomped the silver heart pendant with the heel of his boot, grinding it into the marble. The same green, thorned vines of light rose from it to surround Ansem, binding him tightly, squeezing a pained cry out of him. 

When the glare faded, Ansem was himself again, but aged at least a decade older, his face lined and gray eyes sunken as the last of the green faded from them. 

"Alchemy indeed," King Yen Sid said gravely, glare fierce as a hawk. "Like so many others before you, Ansem, I think you'll find your false youth not worth the years it cost you in trade. Take him away!" 

"I guess your summer's over," Axel said, chuckling, then cut off when Roxas barked, " _Axel_!"

Sora climbed to his feet, trying to pull Riku up by the hands as well. Riku stayed where he was, deadweight, sure his knees wouldn't hold him. Sora peered down at him, eyes full of concern. "Riku? Are you all right?" 

Riku felt like an overfilled glass, too many emotions swelling in his chest and too many things that he wanted to say all at once. He had to tell Sora the most important thing first. 

"I'm sorry," Riku said. "I didn't keep my promise."

"I forgive you," Sora answered, concern melting into a bright smile. He squeezed Riku's hands between his own. "We can make a new one together. Marry me?"

"Yes," Riku breathed, then he was on his feet, crushing Sora to his chest. Sora was laughing, his arms tight around Riku's neck. "Yes!" 

"Good," Sora murmured against Riku's cheek. "Because if we had to have a fourth night of this ball for me to get engaged, my father was going to murder me." 

"As I was saying," King Yen Sid said pointedly. Riku and Sora peeled themselves apart in a hurry, Riku's ears turning red, Sora still clinging to his arm. The king gave them a stern look that Riku felt all the way down to his toes, then turned to address the crowd. "Tonight I announce the engagement of Crown Prince Sora—"

Riku didn't hear the rest; Sora had stretched up to his toes to kiss Riku's cheek, and when Riku turned his head in surprise, his mouth. The King's voice and the applause of the guests all faded to the background as Riku kissed Sora back. He'd always thought it silly in stories when people kissed and they heard music, but just then he understood it, the way his heartbeat was rushing in his ears, and Sora's, winding into something only the two of them could hear. 

It sounded like a waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All chapter art by theFauxSynder. 
> 
> Synthesis Notes:
> 
> 1\. The shoe never disappears in any of the stories, and I never understand why. Magic!
> 
> 2\. I forgot to link the info about the sour paopu last chapter, so here it is now: in the Ultimania, it says that it's green inside and looks sour, like it shows [here](https://twitter.com/petalscythe/status/1227636002807783424). 
> 
> 3\. The entire Ansem vs sleep-stupid apprentices conversation is basically from the Disney movie version and it was an absolute delight to write Ansem doing all that exasperated dialogue. Also having Ienzo protest it doesn't make sense the prince wouldn't recognize the girl was very satisfying. 
> 
> 4\. I think about how much Riku honestly looks like a younger version of Ansem all the time, so that solved a huge plot problem for me. Sorry, Riku. 
> 
> 5\. All of Axel's dialogue is a long 358/2 joke so I hope you enjoyed that. "Not another step down these stairs!" is a joke from Cinderella 3, though. 
> 
> Only the epilogue yet to go!


	5. Epilogue ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ At the Stroke of Midnight

"I wrote you a thousand letters, you jerk," Sora said. They were out on the balcony of Sora's suite of rooms, leaning on the railing and waiting for the fireworks to start. They'd been sent upstairs to make Riku more presentable, but the opposite had happened; Sora had thrown his heavy jacket aside the instant they'd entered his room. Now the two of them were in their shirtsleeves waiting for the servants to return with something that had even half a chance of fitting across Riku's shoulders. 

Soon enough they'd have to go back downstairs and address the guests formally, but for the moment it was just the two of them. Sora kicked gently at Riku's foot, and Riku kicked back. 

"I know," Riku answered. Sora had seen the bundle of letters when Riku stripped his shirt off to wash his face off in the basin. "You should have put court gossip in all of them, then Ansem would have kept more of them." Sora snorted. Riku put his hand over Sora's where it rested on the railing. "Thank you for still writing them after so long. You don't know what finding those letters meant to me. I thought you'd forgotten me, that everyone had."

"I thought _you_ had forgotten _me_ ," Sora said. Sora turned his hand over to lace his fingers with Riku's. "I still can't remember knowing you before. Even though I know it's you, it's like you now and the person I remember are two different people." Sora looked up, searching Riku's face. "I'm scared I'll forget tonight, too. Will I really remember everything after midnight?"

"I think so," Riku assured, squeezing Sora's hand. 

"Forgetting everything each night felt terrible," Sora admitted, dropping his gaze to his hands. "My whole chest ached, like there was something huge missing. And I felt so stupid when Roxas was asking me about you and I couldn't remember a thing. I thought I was going crazy!"

"I've felt that way all this week," Riku said, thinking about books and bats and hazelnuts and chipmunks and coconut carriages. "I think I've had enough of magic for a lifetime."

"That's a fine how do you do," said a sweet, female voice behind them. Riku and Sora both whirled in surprise to find Naminé, hands on her hips. "If that's how you both feel, I'll just go—"

"Naminé!" Riku exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I've come to clean up few odds and ends," Naminé said airily. "Someone left a winged horse and a pair of mice at the gate that were giving the Royal Guard quite a run for their munny."

"Oops," Riku muttered. He cleared his throat when Sora looked up at him in confusion. "Sora, this is Naminé, my fairy godmother."

"Pleased to meet your, Your Highness," Naminé said with an elegant curtsy. 

"The pleasure is mine," Sora said, bowing in return. He straightened up, looking Naminé over curiously. "Fairy godmother? Are you the one who brought Riku back?"

"Yes, and I'm afraid my memory magic has done quite a number on you," Naminé said apologetically. "Your heart knew Riku the moment you saw him again, not as a handsome stranger, easily forgotten in the crowd, but as your childhood friend. To make you forget, my magic had to take away all those memories too, to break your connection. That is why during the ball, you could not remember knowing Riku before, but after midnight, you lost your memories of each night as your childhood memories returned. Now it is all quite a jumble, I'm afraid."

"Can it be mended?" Riku asked, guilt squirming in his chest for subjecting Sora to this.

"Will I have to choose?" Sora wanted to know, squeezing Riku's hand tight. His face was pinched with worry. "I don't want to forget being friends with Riku before, but I don't want to forget these three nights either!"

"Oh, such faces, let's not have a panic yet," Naminé said, stepping closer to pat both Sora and Riku's cheeks. "After all, it's nearly midnight, the magic hour, and there's always true love's kiss. At least one of those things ought to work."

"Ought to?" Riku asked dubiously. 

"We tried kissing already," Sora told her earnestly, making Riku go pink across the nose. "A lot. It would have worked already if it were going to, definitely." 

"Sora," Riku muttered, elbowing him. 

"Indeed," Naminé said, eyes sparkling with amusement. She pulled out her wand, just as the castle clocktower tolled its first stroke of midnight above them. "Riku has already had his wish, so it's only fair that you may have one too, Sora. Quickly, now!" 

"Oh!" Sora turned to Riku, letting go of his hand to hug him instead. Riku wrapped arms tightly around Sora's back as the clock continued to chime. When Sora tilted his head up so their eyes could meet, his expression was determined. "I wish I could remember everything. I don't want to forget!" 

"Me too," Riku agreed, pressing his lips to Sora's forehead. 

"Well said," Naminé called over the last toll of the bell. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

[ ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1275920590260535296)

Familiar blue light shot from Naminé's wand, wreathing them both. When the light reached Sora's head, it burst in a small rain of sparkles, sending what felt like a static shock from Sora's forehead to Riku's lips.

"Ouch!" Riku exclaimed, jerking back. Sora's eyes were wide, his circlet askew. The first firework burst above them, making both of them jump. "Did it work? Sora?"

"Who are you?" Sora asked, blinking. "What are you doing in my bedroom?" At Riku's horrified expression, Sora burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist! Your face!"

"YOU!" Riku shouted, relieved and annoyed and fond all at once. He hefted Sora up as if about to toss him off the balcony like a firework himself, Sora kicking and still shrieking laughter. 

"Stop! Riku!" Sora clapped his hands against Riku's cheeks, tilting his head up. "It's really you."

"It is," Riku murmured, feeling as if his heart would burst. 

"There now, all is mended!" Naminé said briskly, drawing their attention back to her. "Riku, be a dear and set the prince down so we can do something about your…attire."

Riku gave Sora one more threatening squeeze before letting him slide down to the ground. "But it's already after midnight."

"Yes, well, I won't tell if you don't." Naminé winked and lifted her wand again. "Let's see, we've done green and blue…I think I know just the thing."

A flick of her wand and Riku was again surrounded by light. Blinking the glare away, Riku saw Naminé had given him a splendid coat, golden as sand at dawn, embroidered with vines and flowers, the buttons star-shaped. They were paopu fruits, Riku realized as he rubbed one between his fingers, little leaves sticking out here and there. 

"Yellow does suit you, I think," Naminé said, tapping her chin with her wand. She asked Sora, "Is it too much?"

"Don't ask him," Riku said, reaching up to see what his hair was doing. "He wanted me to keep the bandana on."

"It's perfect," Sora answered Naminé, ignoring Riku. "Thank you, Naminé. For everything. Will we see you again?"

"I think you may," Naminé said archly. "Bad luck not to invite the godmother to the christening."

"The what?" Riku demanded, but Naminé was already gone with a _pop_ and a burst of blue sparkles. 

Sora didn't seem nearly so startled, laughing quietly as he held out a hand to catch the drifting sparkles like snowflakes. One landed on his nose, stuck fast when Riku tried to brush it off. The fireworks were still going on above them, but they didn't seem worth looking at with Sora right in front of him. 

There was one thing Riku was still wondering about. "I've been meaning to ask, is it really all right to marry me? I won't be producing any royal heirs."

"Oh, that. Well, there's magic now, apparently," Sora said breezily, waving a hand. Riku stared him down until Sora gave in. "Or there's always adoption. It's how father ended up with me and Roxas, after all."

"He adopted you?" Riku asked, perplexed. "Really?"

"Of course he did!" Sora burst out laughing. "How did you think he got us?"

"The normal way!" Riku retorted, a flush creeping up the back of his neck. 

"He's like a _thousand_ years old," Sora gasped, now laughing too hard to explain anything. "You thought—oh my gosh—"

The door to Sora's rooms slammed open just then, loud enough to be heard over the fireworks. Roxas appeared in the balcony doorway a moment later, looking if possible even more exasperated than he'd been earlier. 

"Roxas!" Sora called, still wheezing. "You've got to hear this! Riku thought father had us with a lady!" 

"I don't want to hear it," Roxas cut off Sora, expression sour. "I've just been divebombed by a bat for the second time today, and a pair of mice were talking to me all the way up the stairs. I've freed them in your room just now, in revenge for this entire day." He paused, eyeing Riku. "You're certainly flashy. Weren't your pants due to turn back into capris at midnight?"

"True love's kiss," Riku shrugged. Sora muffled a laugh behind his hand. "Magical loophole."

"At least you'll be easy to spot if you flee through the garden again," Roxas said. "I suppose I must thank you for saving my brother, as well as forgive you for years of abandoning him, as I'm given to understand that it wasn't entirely your fault."

"You don't have to forgive me, Prince Roxas." Riku offered his hand. "But I hope you will, eventually."

Roxas accepted Riku's hand and shook on it. "Just Roxas will do. Sora and I are both the prince, so it's annoying otherwise."

"Stay and watch the fireworks with us!" Sora said, grabbing Roxas's other hand and dragging him out onto the balcony without waiting for an answer. 

"Someone has to guard you, I suppose, you idiot," Roxas sighed. Despite his reluctant tone, he tilted his head back to watch with the two of them, and when a huge explosion washed everything in red, Riku thought he saw a hint of a smile relaxing Roxas's face. 

"Ready for happily ever after?" Riku asked, sliding an arm around Sora's shoulders. 

"Absolutely not," Sora said indignantly, leaning into Riku's side. "I haven't traveled to a distant kingdom or fought a duel for your honor or rescued you from a dragon or _anything_. It's like I'm not even the hero of this story. What good's being a prince for?"

"Demanding an entire cake layer to yourself once we go back downstairs, I hope," Riku said, making Sora chuckle. "And you know, now that you're engaged, it is customary for the Crown Prince and his betrothed to make a tour of the neighboring kingdoms for diplomatic introductions. I hear Corona had their princess kidnapped once, if you want to start at a kingdom with a reputation. Maybe you can chat her up about it."

"Really?" Sora asked, delighted. "Across the sea? In a ship?"

Riku grinned. "I know a guy with some merchant connections."

"And do you know," Roxas said as if continuing the conversation from earlier, "I think it was the _same_ bat both times! I swear I'm going mad."

"No peeking, Your Highness," Riku ordered.

"I'm not!" Sora insisted, sitting cross-legged on Riku's bed, eyes closed and squirming with impatience. 

They'd given Riku an entire suite of his own when he'd moved into the palace three days ago, much larger than Riku had any idea what to do with. He was thankful to have a space of his own, still adjusting to life in the palace. There were so many people here, all the rooms so big and so grand. He couldn't shake the worry that he'd break anything he touched, even though Sora had assured him that as the betrothed of the crown prince, Riku had the royal right to smash every vase in the palace if he wanted to. 

So far Riku had barely had the courage to ask if he could paint stars on the ceiling, like his father had painted for him in his childhood bedroom. Sora and he had spent yesterday afternoon on ladders completing it, covered in paint, and bribed Axel to do the center where the ceiling vaulted the highest. 

Riku looked down at his hands, where Mickey and Minnie were resting on his palms. Mickey looked pleased as punch with his fur brushed smooth; Minnie had a new satin bow and was still grooming her whiskers into place. 

"Ready?" Riku asked. The mice nodded. "All right, you can open your eyes."

"Finally!" Sora exclaimed. He lit up when he saw the black mice. "Oh!"

"Your Highness," Riku said formally, "may I present Michel and Minnifred Mouse, two of my very best friends." Mickey bowed, and Minnie executed a flawless curtsey, tail held up for balance. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir and Mademoiselle," Sora bowed in return, not bothering to hide his grin. Minnie corrected him, politely but firmly. "Oh, Madame! My apologies. Riku, they're darling!" Sora laughed as Mickey and Minnie ran over onto his hands, their little feet tickling his palms. Mickey ran up to Sora's shoulder immediately, while Minnie settled on Sora's palm with the air of a fancy lady about to be served tea. Sora obligingly handed her a cracker from the tray sitting next to them on the bed. "You don't really call her Minnifred, do you? Poor thing."

"Minnie and Mickey," Riku chuckled. He tilted his head back to look up at the curtained canopy over his bed. "Hey, up there. Are you sure you don't want to come down?"

Komory peered just over the edge of the fabric, eyeing Riku suspiciously. She chirped a definite no. The little bat still hadn't forgiven Riku entirely for being turned into horse twice, being chased and captured by the royal guard, and then being moved into a new, very large and scary space to live. 

Fortunately, Riku knew how to buy forgiveness. He held up half a mango. "If you come down, you can have the whole thing." Riku smiled hopefully. "Prince Sora really wants to meet you. I told him all about what a smart, brave girl you are."

Several seconds went by before Komory caved in and flapped down. She paused on the edge of the mango just long enough to scrape out two handfuls of fruit pulp with her back feet, before retreating to Riku's shoulder, doing her best to hide under his hair. Komory was still grumbling soft complaints as she shoved fruit into her mouth, but it was a start. 

"This is Komory," Riku introduced. "She's shy, but she'll come around."

"She's getting mango all over you," Sora said, amused. "Although it does explain the state of your hair sometimes."

"Listen to you," Riku snorted, holding the mango up to his shoulder for Komory to steal another clawful. She would put herself into a fruit coma eventually and then Riku had every intention of dropping her into Sora's wayward hair; he'd see then, once Komory decided he was her new best friend. "As if you aren't just as weird. You've got a dog named Meow."

The dog in question, a chubby steel-blue beagle, was currently rolling around on Riku's carpet next to the bed, shedding fur everywhere. He'd taken one look at the height of Riku's bed and refused to jump up, more out of laziness than good training.

[ ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1275920590260535296)

"He's a terrible dog," Sora said fondly, dropping one foot off the edge of the bed to nudge Meow in the side. Meow rolled over in an obvious bid for belly scratches, ears flopping out. "Your pets certainly seem cleverer. So now I've met these friends of yours, you have to tell me the whole story, like you promised."

"All right," Riku agreed, still feeling reluctant. He'd told most of the story to Sora, Roxas, and Yen Sid already, but he'd left out some of the more bizarre details. "You won't believe parts of it, though. I'll sound silly."

"Really," Sora said dryly, who had one mouse in his hair and another in his hands being fed a peeled grape like a queen. "I can't imagine how I'd believe anything silly."

"Fair point." Riku managed to nudge Komory onto the mango, off his shoulder. Occupied with her fruit, Komory gave Sora a beady eye when he stroked her head gently with his fingertips but otherwise allowed it. "The first weird thing that happened was—"

"Once upon a time," Sora interrupted, making Riku blink. "It's a story with magic and stuff in it, right? It has to start with once upon a time." Mickey and Minnie squeaked their agreement. "See?"

"Of course, my prince," Riku said, suppressing an eyeroll. "Once upon a time, in a small but prosperous kingdom by the sea…Ienzo came into the kitchen and shouted at me about chipmunks."

"I love it already," Sora said, setting Minnie on his shoulder so that he could draw up his knees to get comfortable, chin resting on top, bright blue eyes attentive. "Go on."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All chapter art and divisions drawn by theFauxSynder. This fic wouldn't be the same without her, and without Greeneggs101, who helped pitch the original idea, betaed, encouraged me even though this took me so long to finish. I can't thank you guys enough! And the rest of you who encouraged me on twitter and discord, I appreciated that more than you guys know. Thank you ♥♥♥
> 
> One last Synthesis Note: Michel and Minnifred Mouse are Mickey and Minnie's fake fancy names in the new Mickey short "Fancy Gentleman" which is one of my favorites. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this fairy tale AU. I really enjoyed reading all the different versions of the Cinderella story and fitting different elements from them into the KH characters and places. Thank you for reading until the end!


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